A Knight's Vengeance
by Metallic Snow
Summary: I was seven years old when I lost my parents who were captured and executed during the war with our country's enemy kingdom. So I, Lucy Heartfilia, have sworn to complete one goal ever since that day. I would take revenge. I would kill the enemy kingdom's prince, the only heir to the throne, and ruin their kingdom. Yes, I would assassinate His Highness Prince Natsu Dragneel. (NALU)
1. Chapter 1

_They aren't coming back._

 _That poor girl._

 _How pitiful… and she is so young._

 _Shut up!_ I thought as a little seven year old. _Shut up!_

Everyday as a child, ever since my parents had gone to the war against the enemy country, Dragoon Kingdom, I would wait at the top of the largest hill in my town, Magnolia. It was the last place I saw my parents. I was just waiting… _waiting_ for my parents to come home.

 _That girl is waiting there everyday… Hasn't she heard the news?_ I always heard the villagers say about me. _Her parents were caught and executed. Why won't she believe us?_

I wouldn't believe them. My father was the top strongest knight back when he were studying at Knight Academy, the country's best school for trainees to learn how to use weapons. Mother was a nurse who cared for the ill in the war. She was the best nurse in the country. My parents wouldn't die so easily. They promised after all. They promised me that they would come home, _no matter what_.

But after a year, I knew that I had to face reality.

I was getting ready to go back to that hill, when I heard a knock at my door. I groaned. It was probably one of those neighbors who wanted me to face reality and stop waiting at that hill.

But when I opened the door, my eyes widen to see those royal clothes. It was a young boy with raven black hair. He wore one of those tiny headpieces for children of the nobility. I knew who he was at first look.

Immediately I got on my knees on my dusty ground floor and bowed to him. I faced the ground. "His Highness Prince Gray Fullbuster!" I exclaimed. "W-Welcome! What brings you here?"

Prince Gray gets down on one leg and lifts my chin so I am looking at him eye to eye. "Please stand up," he says calmly. "You need not to dirty your knees."

"But Your Highness!" I said. "That would be terribly rude of me."

Prince Gray sighs. "Fine then. I order you as the prince of the Kingdom of Fiore to stand."

Slowly, I stand up on my shaky legs and look at him eye to eye. At this time, I was eight-years-old. Prince Gray was ten, two years older than me. I was afraid of this boy. Even as a youngster, he had much power. For example, if he wanted to execute me even without reason, his subordinates would do so immediately.

But instead of ordering anything or being the scary ruler I thought he would be, he extended his hand to me. "It's okay to cry," was all he said.

I just stared at him in confusion and shock. But soon, all the confidence I had that my parent's were still alive just broke. I honestly knew from the start that they were gone. I just never wanted to accept it.

For the first time in a whole year, tears burst out of my eyes. Prince Gray took my hand and pulled me into his chest, allowing me to cry on it. He patted my back as he hugged me tight.

After I calmed down, I invited him inside my house. He sat on a chair as I brought him tea to drink.

"His Highness," I began.

"Please don't call me that," he says. "I don't care much for royal titles."

"Um… then Prince Gray," I said. "Would you tell me the details of my parents' execution from the war? The townspeople won't tell me."

"Sure," Prince Gray says. "But you don't have to be so formal with me when it is just the two of us. Just call me Gray."

"But Prince Gray!" I said as I bowed. "I could never do that! It would be rude of me. Calling you Prince Gray is already casual enough for me."

"Fine, whatever makes you feel the most comfortable with me," he said.

"In any case, I beg you to tell me about my parents," I said. "Please Prince Gray. I must know."

Prince Gray sighed. "That's what I came for. After I heard about a girl who waited for her deceased parents everyday at that large hill, I just had to ask permission from my parents to come over," he began. "You see… your parents, Jude and Layla Heartfilia, were excellent subordinates according to my father, the King. They were said to be the best in the whole kingdom. But in the last war with our enemy kingdom, Dragoon Kingdom, they were caught as prisoners and executed by King Igneel and Queen Grandeeney."

I just stood there, looking at Prince Gray with widen eyes. My little fists shook in fear as I put them in fists.

"Lucy…," Prince Gray said.

My bangs covered my eyes. I could feel anger built within me. "I'll kill them…," I muttered under my breath. "I'll kill those rulers who ordered execution upon my parents."

"But Lucy! King Igneel and Queen Grandeeney are already dead," Prince Gray said. "I heard from the messengers that there was an accident on one of their carriage rides."

I was shocked when I heard this. If they were already dead, how would I avenge my parents? But then I remembered. They had a son, their only heir to the throne. What was his name again? Oh yes.

Prince Natsu Dragneel.

"I will kill their son," I said confidently. "That will be my parents and my revenge. I will take their only heir to the throne and ruin their kingdom ultimately."

"Wait Lucy!" Prince Gray exclaimed. "How would you do that? You are only a child! A mere eight-year-old girl!"

I gulped and stared at Prince Gray straight in the eye. I got on the floor and bowed. "Please Your Highness!" I exclaimed. "Please allow me to attend Knight Academy!"

"Huh?" the prince said. "But you… you're a girl! You can't attend Knight Academy!"

He was right. Only males were allowed to be knights, like how only females were allowed to be nurses. But I couldn't just sit around there and do nothing. I wanted to fight and kill the king and queen of the Dragoon Kingdom myself. Not wait for someone else to assassinate them.

"Lucy, you are a female, don't you understand?" Prince Gray says. "I can not allow someone like you to become a knight. It would be against the law."

"They will make an exception for me!" I said strongly. "I am the daughter of the past greatest knight of this kingdom. They will allow me to attend Knight Academy."

Prince Gray gulped. He knew that I had a chance with that kind of reputation. "Fine… I'll talk to my mother about it."

My eyes brightened in excitement. "Thank you so much, Your Highness!" I exclaimed with a bow.

"Don't call me that," Prince Gray said with a tint of pink in his cheeks. "Just call me Gray."

I made a slight grin. "Okay, Gray."

And from that day on, my number one goal was the assassination of the prince of the Dragoon Kingdom by my own hands, no one else.

 **I would assassinate Natsu Dragneel.**

* * *

A year had passed since that declaration. With the Queen's permission, I was allowed to be the only female to attend Knight Academy as a trainee. I was also the youngest out of everyone there. Most boys started attending this school when they were thirteen. I was nine, so not only being a girl made me stood out, but it was also my age.

It made me gain much publicity.

I remembered the first day of school as if it were yesterday. It was the day I got to choose what kind of knight I could be. I could be a swordsman, knife handler, traditional katana user, archer, bomber, and et cetera. I had no idea that there were this many types of knights in our kingdom.

I decided to choose knife handler, even though it was the hardest area to work on. But knives were the easiest to conceal, perfect for assassination.

I did make some friends from the nursing school nearby. Everyone was thirteen, older than me but I still managed to get along. My best friend Levy was one of them. I thought that she was an impressive nurse in training. She was thirteen and I was nine when I met her, but we got along great.

It was harder for me to get along with the males in Knight Academy for a while. They kept whispering and making rumors about me, saying I was weak due to my gender and age. They would also bully me, push me in the halls, and call me names. But I was determined to show them wrong during the first practice match after the first month of school.

* * *

Everyday, I would get trash on my training weapons and my shoes thrown in the trash. The bullying from the boys seemed endless. But I didn't care much about it. They had no idea about the kind of strength I, a nine-year-old, had.

I took my wooden knife and went to the training grounds, where my class was going to have our first training match. The instructor stood in the middle of the tiny arena.

"Alright kids," he said. "For the first match of the day, I would like to see Trainee Swordsman Elfman and Trainee Knifehandler Lucy Heartfilia to battle."

"Go Elfman!" I could hear all the teenage boys cheer loudly. "Show this wimp who's boss!"

"This isn't even a battle," I could hear a boy next to me whisper to his friend. "Elfman is the strongest trainee and a swordsman. Swordmen obviously have an advantage against knife handlers."

But instead of being frightened, I grinned. My heart beat in excitement, as if adrenaline was running through my veins. A fight against the strongest guy in the grade? Perfect to show who was the best.

I watched Elfman take his wooden sword as he stepped in the ring. Then he looked at me with an intimidating look. "Hey you, girly twerp," he said rudely. "Are you going to get on the ring or are you too scared?" he teased.

I glared at the over muscular guy as I walked toward the ring. I wasn't going to allow him to humiliate me.

"Oh, looks like the girl is really going for it!" a boy laughed.

I could hear the constant cheers for Elfman raging in the tiny training grounds. Since when were the boys this annoying and loud?

I looked at Elfman's structure. He seemed to be heavy, probably around a hundred forty pounds since he had so much muscle. But because of that, he was slow. His run was probably around eight miles an hour.

I made a slight grin as I tried to keep my poker face. That was my advantage right there. The boys were wrong. The one who had the advantage in this battle wasn't him. It was me.

"Alright," the instructor said. "Quiet down!" And instantly, everyone stayed quiet. The instructor raised his hand. "Okay. Start battle," he slammed his arm down. "Now!"

Immediately, Elfman charged towards me with his wooden sword aimed at my stomach. He was faster than I imagined, but I was still faster.

I waited until he got close enough. Everyone watching the battle started getting confused on why I wasn't dodging such an obvious attack.

Once his blade was about half a foot away from my stomach, I dodged to the right and grabbed his right shoulder, using it as a launch pad to jump over his body, dislocating it while I was at it. I then balanced myself and got myself on his broad shoulders, like how a father would carry his child.

"Argh!" I heard Elfman cry in pain, immediately dropping his sword.

I grabbed my wooden knife and immediately used my weight to bring him to the ground, making the two of us slam into the dirt as I used my legs to create a neck lock, choking him.

"Urgh…," he groaned, trying to get my legs off of his neck. But my legs were stronger than his measly hands.

"My win," I said with a grin as I unsheathe my wooden knife and brought it to his neck.

"Stop the battle!" the instructor immediately exclaimed. The trainee nurses immediately ran into the ring as I let go of Elfman. He needed immediate care due to the dislocation I made in his shoulder.

Well, that was what he got for underestimating me just because I was a girl.

I looked the my classmates. All of them were speechless from the battle. It was short. I overpowered the most muscular thirteen-year-old guy in our grade and defeated in less than a minute. And I was a nine-year-old girl.

Well, after that the bullying stopped. I guess they were scared of me or something.

* * *

I was sixteen when I graduated from Knight Academy. Most people graduated as twenty-year-olds, but I started when I was nine, so I was an exception. I was titled as the strongest knight in the kingdom, just like my father. People were amazed to watch me get awarded by the King and Queen of the Country of Fiore. I could see Prince Gray, grinning at me.

After the award ceremony, I ran to Prince Gray and gave him a hug. In our country, it was uncommon for people to hug or show affection unless the other person was a relative or lover. But he and I were close enough, so we didn't really care. At least I didn't. Prince Gray always blushed whenever I hugged him for some reason.

"Congrats, Lucy," Prince Gray said with a smile. "You did great for the past seven years in the academy."

"Thank you so much Prince Gray!" I exclaimed. This could only happen thanks to you."

"Geez…," he muttered bashfully. "I told you to call me Gray."

"Sorry, it's a bad habit, Gray," I said. "But I always feel so guilty whenever I call you by just your first name, you know what I mean?"

I still had a habit of calling him Prince Gray, but I began to talk a lot more casually with him. He was my closest and best friend after all. He was the reason why I, a female, was allowed to be a knight.

I was the first female and youngest knight in the whole kingdom. I smiled as I thought what my parents would think about it. Would they be proud? Maybe they were bragging about me in heaven. I hoped they were. I always wanted to be the daughter they could brag about.

The king walked over to me after the ceremony. I looked at him in awe. I was close to Gray but I rarely ever spoke to his father. Immediately, I got on one knee and bowed. "His Highness King Silver Fullbuster," I said, naming his title to be polite.

"Heartfilia," he said. "You may stand."

I stood to his orders and straightened my back, looking at him in the eye.

King Silver ordered one of his subordinates to come over. The subordinate came over with a beautiful cased knife. The handle was beautifully carved and decorated with gold water-like carvings. In the center was a sapphire, the country's national gem.

"This knife was your father's," King Silver said. "He was an excellent swordsman as well as a knifehandler. I believe he would be honored to have this knife be passed down to you."

My hands shook as he placed the knife into my hands. The knife was heavy, perhaps about fifteen pounds or so. "T-Thank you so much King Silver!" I exclaimed as I put the knife on my belt. "This is more than I could ever ask for."

The king made a smile at me and to my surprise, he patted my head, something very uncommon to do in my country. It was something a parent would do to a child.

I looked at him, confused.

"Oh sorry," he said, letting go of my head. "Your father was a very close friend of mine, so to me, you seem to be almost like a daughter."

 _Daughter…_ I thought. How long had it been since I was called that? My eyes watered a bit, but I kept the tears in. It would be humiliating to cry in front of my king.

King Silver must have noticed that I was crying, so he handed me a handkerchief. "You don't have to call me King Silver," he said. "Your father just called me Silver whenever we were alone, you know. He was the closest friend I have ever made in my life. And you Heartfilia…" He bent down to get a better look at my face. "You have your father's eyes."

I burst out crying. I swore to myself never to cry once I became an official knight, but I was already breaking it. It was too much to hold in.

"Even the emotionless knights have to cry too," King Silver said with a laugh. He put his hand on my shoulder. "So don't feel ashamed, Heartfilia."

"Yes, thank you Your Highness," I said. "You are too kind."

The king made a soft smile, almost like a father looking at a child. Perhaps my father and him had similar personalities which was why I kept thinking of Father. "Why don't you marry my son?" he joked. "I wouldn't be upset if you were my daughter-in-law."

I laughed. "A commoner can't marry a prince. Even if I am titled the strongest knight," I said. "That would be terrible of me."

"That's a pity then," he said. "I wouldn't mind it though. I'm sure my wife would agree."

I shook my head with a smile. "You must stop joking around, King Silver."

"Hm… I wasn't joking though," he mumbled. "Anyhow," he pointed at me. "I have the first mission for you."

"Yes King?" I said.

"Sneak into the enemy kingdom, Dragoon Kingdom," he said. "And _assassinate Prince Natsu Dragneel._ "

"Yes!" I shouted like a proper knight, going on one knee and bowing. "Your order is my command."

* * *

The next day, I prepared my black horse and supplies for the journey. It would take me about three nights to arrive there. I would have to travel through a desert. I heard that the Dragoon Kingdom was a total desert itself. Water was scarce there. I prepared a lot of water for the round trip. I was going to come back after all, with news that I had killed that _revolting_ Prince Natsu Dragneel.

"Lucy," I heard someone say my name as I was packing. I turned around to see Prince Gray.

Like with every royal person, I got on one knee and bowed. "His Highness Prince Gray," I said.

"Goodness Lucy," Prince Gray scolded. "I told you that you didn't have to be so formal with me when we were alone."

I felt a sweatdrop on my cheek. I stood up and scratched my head. "Ah, sorry Gray," I said. "Bad habit I guess."

Prince Gray looked at my horse and sighed. He looked a little down.

"What's wrong Your High- I mean, Gray?" I asked. "You don't look well."

He shrugged as he touched the soft fur of my horse. "I'm scared for you," he choked out. I noticed little droplets of water dripping down his chin.

"Gray…"

"I'm scared!" he exclaimed. "What if you don't come back?! What if I never see you again?! What if… What if you end up like your parents…?"

I felt a lump on my throat. I walked over to Prince Gray and hugged him from his back. He was taller than me, so I had to go on my tippy toes. "It will be okay," I whispered in his ear. "I won't die."

"Then promise me," he said. "Promise me that you will come back to me safely."

"Okay," I said strongly. "I promise."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Prince Gray turned around, surprising me a bit, and wrapped his huge arms around my tiny body. He made me slam into his chest. "When you come back, I need to tell you something," he said with a tint of blush in his cheeks.

"What is it?" I asked.

"My feelings," he said.

I looked at him, confused. Feelings? What did he mean by that?

"I don't get it," I replied. "Can you explain?"

Prince Gray shook his head. "You'll find out when you complete our promise and come home safely."

I smiled, even though I was still a bit confused. "Alright then," I said. "You tell me when I come home with news of Prince Natsu Dragneel's assassination. I guarantee that it will happen."

* * *

Well, I guess that I am finally done talking about my past. Right now, I am about to ride out of the castle gates for my mission. Prince Gray, King Silver, and Queen Ur are watching me.

"Good luck Heartfilia," the king says with pride.

"When you come back, be sure to marry my son," Queen Ur says.

I grin. "Sorry my queen," I say. "But I don't think that is possible with my status."

"S-Stop joking Mother!" Gray says with an extremely red face.

I look at Prince Gray carefully. "Your Highness Prince Gray," I say. "Do you happen to be ill? Your face is quite red."

The queen laughs. "No, Lucy," she says. "My son is just having some love problems."

"Love problems?" I ask, confused.

"Mother!" Prince Gray madly shouts, using his arm to cover his overly red face.

I laugh. "Well, either way, Prince Gray, please remember to get some rest."

"Okay, okay," Prince Gray pouts. "I will."

I smile and look at the queen, king, and prince. "I'm going to get going now then," I say with a salute.

The king salutes back. "We wish you the best of luck on your assassination of the prince, our fine knight."

And with that, I pull the strings of my horse and I am off. The horse is fast. The wind feels like it is cutting my skin.

It is finally happening. I grasp onto my father's old knife that I recently sharpened.

I'm getting revenge for you father, mother. I will avenge the two of you.

I will assassinate Prince Natsu Dragneel, the only heir, and ruin the Dragoon Kingdom.

This will be my vengeance. Yes, **A Knight's Vengeance**.

 **\- End of Chapter One -**

Hi guys! So this is my new fanfic! I hope you like it! :) If you are new to me, thank you so much for checking out my story! I hope we can get along!

Thank you for reading the first chapter of this fanfiction. Please look forward to the next one! ^_^

Also, if you know the artist of my cover image, please tell me so I can give proper credit! Thanks!

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	2. Chapter 2

My horse is panting from the long journey. I have been traveling for three days straight. Both my horse and I are haggard, but I can see that revolting castle from this distance. It is the castle of the Dragneels, the royal family. It is currently inhabited by the prince, Natsu Dragneel and his servants. The sight of it encourages me to continue. I am almost there.

The heat in this desert is amazing horrific. I am used the daily cold weather of the country of Fiore, so being put in this weather is terrible for me. I wipe my sweat with my black scarf that I wore in the beginning of the trip. Damn it, I shouldn't have worn so many layers of clothing.

After about three more hours in this scorching heat, I finally arrive at the high walls of the capital at midnight. In this country, the whole kingdom and country is blocked from foreigners by this tall, thick wall, making it hard to infiltrate it.

So this was where my parents were executed. I grit my teeth in anger. I won't let this country get away with it. I must avenge my parents.

This wall is nothing to me. During training in Knight Academy, I have practiced climbing walls that were even running with water. I spent my whole life training for this.

I get my rope and tie a sharp heavy metal to it. Then I throw it across the huge wall. I lock it onto it, pulling it to make sure that it is safe.

"Alright…," I whisper to myself as I check my belt, making sure that it has my knife fastened on it. I pat my horse, letting it know that I will be back soon. I need it to rest for now so I can make my escape as fast as possible after assassinating His Highness Prince Natsu Dragneel.

Slowly, I shift my weight on the rope and put my feet on the slippery wall. As I climb the rope, my hands burn from the friction. My legs want to give out from the fatigue. The sweat that is forming on my feet is definitely not helping either. Damn, it is too hot. No wonder why I have heard so many stories of invaders dying from climbing this wall. It is horrifyingly tiring.

But I won't give up. I will be the first one to climb this wall. I must keep moving for my parents. I must avenge them.

Somehow, after a while, I manage to get myself over the wall. I roll my rope back around my arm to make it easier to carry around. I pant from tiredness and take a peek at the view. There is nothing. Just a vast desert. How do people even live here?

I look to my right. I can see a security guard who is standing near my area. He has his eyes closed, probably sleeping on the job. I don't blame him. No one has been able to climb this wall before. Well, until I came that is.

Okay, I got to be as quiet as possible. I slowly walk past the guard, walking towards the castle.

Suddenly, I hear a crack under my feet. I look down and notice that I accidentally stepped on a chicken bone. Disgusting. I look behind me to make sure that the guard is still asleep, but instead I make eye contact with the him. My heart's rate begins to accelerate in fear.

"Crap," I mutter under my breath.

The guard's eyes widen as he spots me. He opens his mouth wide. Shoot! He is trying to call all the soldiers to the area!

I quickly move fast and sprint towards him. I move behind him and cover his mouth with my hands. In the beginning, he tries to strangle me, trying to make me lose my grip. But then he stops.

I look down at his hands to see what he is trying to do. My eyes widen as my heart beats in fear. He is trying to grab his knife to stab me! Dammit, I can't die now. This is just the beginning!

I swiftly remove one hand while keeping the other on his mouth and unsheathe my knife. I can see the guard shiver in fear. But I could careless. Call me heartless or whatever, but I don't give a crap about a measly guard's life.

Quickly, I cut his throat, giving him an instant death. Then I let go of his mouth as he falls onto the ground. Dead.

Well, that will keep him quiet.

I look at my knife, now covered in blood. I wanted the prince's flesh to be the first one to taste the fine metal of this knife, but I didn't have a choice. I had to kill that stupid guard to keep him silent. Or else he would definitely report me to his nation's leaders and describe my appearance. He saw my face after all.

I wipe the blood off using a handkerchief. That will do for now.

I begin to walk toward the castle again, this time staring at the ground to make sure that there is no debris. Surprising, on the wall, there is a lot of trash lying around. Ew. What kind of rulers would allow this mess to lie around? Apparently that revolting Prince Natsu Dragneel. Ugh, just the thought of him sends shivers to my spine.

After about an hour, I am finally close to the castle. It was a good thing that all the guards were sleeping on duty, or else my infiltration would have been a lot harder.

I look to my right. The castle's window is left carelessly open. What the hell. It is as if they were asking me to intrude. People here must really be carefree.

I get my rope and throw it up to the window. Then I tightly tie the other end to a hook on the wall. Alright, that looks tight enough. I test it by putting some pressure on it. Looks like it should be able to hold my weight.

Carefully, I stand up and put one foot on the rope. I gulp. Tightrope walking has never been my strong suit. In fact, it is my worst subject.

I try not to look down. I hate to admit it, but I do have a slight fear of heights.

The wind blows the rope side to side, making it harder to keep balance.

Deep breaths, Lucy. You can do this.

I almost fall off the rope at least two times, but somehow, I barely make it to the window. I jump inside quietly. My heart is still beating from the height of that tightrope. I hug my arms, trying to stop them from shaking. Stupid fear of heights. It gets in the way of everything.

But I know that I can't spend too much time calming myself down. I have to hurry before the guards who do nightwatch spot my tracks.

I stand up. I seem to be in a huge bedroom. It is even bigger than my whole entire house.

My ears pick up a loud snore. My heart skips a beat in surprise. There is someone sleeping in this room?

My eyes trail to the huge bed with see through curtains draped around it, probably to used to avoid mosquitos. As expected, there is a man sleeping on it. I eyes squint as I catch something golden on top of his dresser. Huh? Is that a… crown?

My heart beats in realization. This is the prince's room. His Highness Prince Natsu Dragneel.

A smirk appears on my face. How lucky am I to be in the prince's room first thing? Now I don't have to search the whole castle.

There are probably night guards watching the outside of Prince Natsu's room, so I have to make sure to kill him without making a noise.

As silent as possible, I unsheathe my father's knife and walk to the bed. I quietly open the mosquito net and step inside. Prince Natsu is still snoring loudly. His mouth is wide open, so wide that a parade of flies could fly inside.

I tiptoe closer and closer. My heart beats in anticipation. I have been training seven years just for this moment. I look at the prince's face. He has salmon pink hair, a very rare hair color. Apparently, only the royal Dragneels have that color of hair. His body is well-built. He probably exercises frequently, unlike Gray who does paperwork all day. His facial appearance doesn't look too bad either. His skin is a bit tan, probably from the desert's heat and sun.

Wait a second, am I seriously checking him out?!

I mentally slap myself. _Don't admire the person you are supposed to kill, Lucy!_ I think to myself. _Like, sure he is kind of hot, but remember that he is the son of the rulers that murdered your parents!_

Yes, that is right. He is the son of the people who killed Father and Mother, the two most important people of my life. His parents destroyed my happiness, my innocence, my life. They destroyed _me._

I hold my knife up, aiming for the center of his chest. My hands shake as I try to calm myself down, taking deep breaths over and over again.

It will be okay. It will be okay. Just stab him and it's all over.

 **I will make this country perish and die.**

I slam the knife down, stabbing him in the heart, but for some reason, I do not see any blood nor feel any impact from his body. What?

I feel another person's hand coiled around my wrist. Dammit! Someone else is here! I look behind me, but to my surprise, there is no one. So… whose hand is this?

I look down at the person I am supposed to kill, but to my surprise, I make eye contact with him. His hand is tightly held onto my wrist, stopping my knife from stabbing him.

"Hm…?" he mumbles, rubbing his eyes as if he just woke up.

Oh god. Don't tell me that somehow his instincts stopped me in his sleep!

He opens his eyes and we stare at each other.

I notice that his eyes are almost jet black. I have never seen such dark eyes before. It is almost creepy and eerie. His mouth is slightly open, probably surprised to see another person in his room.

Dammit! I'm not supposed to be admiring him! I put all my body weight on my knife, trying to push it down onto his chest.

 _Come on!_ I think to myself, but he is too strong. I can't even budge from this position.

"Hm…," he mumbles again. My eyes widen when I see that he is smirking. How is he smiling in this situation?! I am an assassin trying to _kill_ him. I hear him make a quiet chuckle. Dammit! What is so funny?!

He uses his other hand and slaps the knife out of my hand. The knife clatters on the floor. Crap. I'm armless.

He grabs my arm and pulls me onto the bed. My heart beats in surprise. I immediately slam onto the soft sheet covers. One of his hands pin both of my hands up, trapping me. He puts his legs over mine, using his weight to make me unable to move. Shoot, he is doing judo. He knows judo. Crap. Crap. Crap.

What is he going to do to me?!

I struggle to get out of his trap, but there is no avail. He is stronger than me and he still has one hand free. He could strangle and choke me right here and even rape me if he really felt like it. I am most likely going to die at this rate.

I watch his free hand slowly move towards my neck. My heart rate accelerates in fear. He is going to try to choke me!

I close my eyes shut as I try to move out of this position. No! No! No! I can't die yet!

But to my surprise, I feel his warm hand touch my chin, moving my face up. It seems like he is trying to get a better look at my face. I feel a slight tingly feeling in my stomach. I can't tell what in the world he is thinking. Shouldn't a normal person be trying to kill me by now?

"Hm…," he mumbles again. "I have had a ton of assassins trying to kill me in the past, but this is the first time that I have seen a daredevil _girl_ like you." He makes a smirk as he touches my cheek with his rough hands.

I try to move my legs so I can kick him (in the balls preferably), but he has me totally locked. I can't move no matter how much I try.

"A girl huh?" he says in a husky voice. "Wonder why they sent a girl alone to kill me. You're obviously weaker than me."

I glare at him once he says the word _weak_. Too many people have called me that just because I was a girl. I am sick of it. I just want to beat up anyone who says that.

He whistles when he sees my glare. "Quite the hothead, aren't you?"

I use my nails to scratch his hands off of my wrists. But his grip is like iron, it won't budge. Just how strong is this guy?

"I'm not weak!" I exclaim. "Just to let you know, I have the title of the strongest knight in my kingdom!"

Prince Natsu raises an eyebrow. "Interesting…," he mumbles. He caresses my cheek again. His touch is so gentle and warm. It is as if he is treating me like a gem. "I like you."

"Huh?" I say, not sure if I just heard him right.

Prince Natsu smirks again. "I like you," he says. "So I'm going to make you my bride."

My eyes widen from a mixture of shock, confusion and disgust.

"Marry me."

WHAT THE HELL?!

 **\- End of Chapter Two -**

Hello! Thank you for reading this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it!

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	3. Chapter 3

"B-Bride? _Marry_?" I ask in a threatening voice, the stuttering not helping at all. "What the hell do you mean?"

"I meant what I said," Prince Natsu says, sticking his tongue at me like a kid. "I'm going to make you my wife."

"Don't kid with me," I reply, annoyed. "You aren't seriously going to marry me, an assassin off to kill _you_."

Prince Natsu lifts my chin again and moves his face closer to mine. "Hm? What if I said that I would?"

Seriously, is there something wrong with his brain? I try to get him to let go of arms again, but his grip is too strong. My body is completely pinned to his bed, a complete disadvantage. My judo isn't very good either, so I can't throw him off. I have never met a man this strong before. This is the first time I have ever felt threatened by another.

His face is getting closer and closer to me. Is he trying to kiss me? Crap. Crap. Crap.

This was not what I wanted! I supposed to kill him, not kiss him!

I close my eyes in fright. My heart beats so fast that it hurts. He is so close to me that I can feel his breath on my lips.

No. No. No. Please. Not my first kiss.

"Your Highness?" I hear a voice from afar.

Prince Natsu stops and looks up, still keeping his iron grip on me. I sigh in relief, safe. I look to see who is it curiously. It is a girl in a maid outfit. She has long blue hair in pigtails and seems to be calm and composed. However, she looks quite young. Perhaps a year younger than me, fifteen-years-old or so.

"Wendy," Prince Natsu says.

"I heard quite some noise in your room, so I thought that I would take a look," Wendy, the maid, says. "But it seems like you are perfectly fine."

Prince Natsu grins. "Well, you came just in time!" he exclaims. "Get Sting and help me get this girl into some better fitting clothes. She looks like she just came from the Arctic's!" he laughs.

"Stop this and let me go!" I scream. But he is not wrong. I am currently wearing the style of clothing from the country of Fiore, where it is always cold. I am practically sweating in them. In the Dragoon Kingdom, it feels like a hot desert.

"Your wish is my command, Your Highness," Wendy says with a bow. Then she walks off.

"Your style of clothing is so weird," the irritating prince says as he plays with my long shirt. "You must not be from around here."

What the hell? Is he trying to pick up a conversation with me pinned to his bed? There is no way I am going to tell anything about myself to him.

"I refuse to talk to you," I say rudely with a glare to show him that I am serious. I look at the ground where my knife is. It is too far to reach. I can't get it.

"What's your name?" he asks as if he didn't hear a word I said. He begins to caress my cheek again. His touch tickles, but for some reason, I don't hate it. Wait a second?! What am I thinking about this irritating prince?! "I'm Natsu. Well, I think you already know that."

"Please don't speak so casually to me," I state. "I refuse to tell you anything."

"Your Highness, I have arrived," I hear a low masculine voice from the door. Prince Natsu looks at the man who spoke. He has blond hair that is neatly gelled back and is wearing a black butler uniform. Wendy is standing behind him. Now that I think about it, this kingdom looks really modern. Even the castle is decorated gothically. In my country, we didn't care much for decorations. Maids and butlers just wore large coats since it was so cold.

Wait a second, why am I even comparing this castle with the one at home?!

"Hey Sting," Prince Natsu says casually. Isn't it a rude thing to speak to your subordinates like that? Guess not in this country. "I was just going to appoint you as this girl's guard. Make sure she doesn't do anything stupid, kay'? Like killing me for instance."

Oh, I'll kill you Prince Natsu Dragneel. First I'll tie you to a fence, let you starve, then peel your hairs off one by one, skin you alive, run you over with an oxen, and finally burn you alive in a bonfire.

"And Wendy, you will be in charge of dressing her, okay?" he says. Then he looks at me and smirks. "Although I would want to dress her myself, if she would allow me-"

"Never in a million years you freak," I grumble, still struggling to get him off me.

"Yes my prince," Sting and Wendy say in unison with a bow. "Your wish is my command."

I look at the butler and maid the stupid prince gave me. They are carrying armed weapons. Not just any weapons, modern weapons. Guns and stuff. I have never seen them in person, but just one look at them sends shivers down my spine. Even someone like me knows that one shot of that thing and I am dead.

Prince Natsu lets go of me, but I don't move. He gets off of me and sits next to me on the bed. I don't dare take even one step. If I do just one thing wrong, that gun is going to get me for sure.

"You can get up, _girl_ ," he says. "Wendy will show you around."

I sit up and stand. My eyes keep trailing to the guns on the butler and maid's belt. My parents were killed by those weapons. They were executed in public with those types of handguns.

"Come with me, Miss," Wendy says. "I'll dress you in some proper attire."

Obediently, I follow. Sting is following closely behind. I am guessing that he is probably extremely skilled with that gun, or else that stupid prince wouldn't have trusted him with the task of looking after me.

This castle is huge, maybe even bigger than Prince Gray's. I can't believe that it is all owned by that one idiot prince. There are large paintings on the wall. I am guessing that they are all royalty because their hair is all pink. In the center of the hallway, there is an especially bigger one.

It is a picture of two people. I have never seen them before, but I know who they are with a single glance.

My heart beats fast in fright.

The man and woman who ordered execution upon my parents.

I immediately freeze up at the spot. I can't move. Those jet black eyes in the photo seem to be staring at me angrily. As if they were screaming at me, saying _die_.

"Mistress?" the maid, Wendy, says. "Is there something wrong?"

I look over to her. Her hand is over her gun, probably thinking that I am trying to find somewhere to escape. I try to take deep breaths, but I just can't calm down whenever I see a gun. My parents were killed with those modern weapons.

"I… I'm fine," I lie, panting a bit.

Slowly, Wendy puts her hand off of her gun. "Alright then," she says. "Come with me. His Highness wants me to dress you."

Dress me? What am I? A kid? I grit my teeth. Is he trying to treat me like a child? That asshole…

Wendy opens a door and I walk inside obediently, still staring at the gun on her waist. Sting stands by the door, guarding it in case I escape. Why is a mere maid and butler carrying such a weapon anyway? Shouldn't their knights be carrying them? Wait a second, does this castle even _have_ knights inside?

After being forced out of my clothes, Wendy makes me take a bath and then dresses me into a short pink dress, which is odd. Usually I would see long dresses for woman. I guess it is the style here or something.

Wendy then gives me a black leather choker with a sparkling red jewel in the middle. It must be a ruby, the country's national gemstone. It is the exact opposite of Fiore's, a sapphire. But oddly, the ruby is warm, as if someone had been holding it for a long time or if there was a mini _fire_ inside. Why?

But then I grit my teeth. Rubies are forbidden in my home country, Fiore. It's the most hated jewel. How dare he force me to wear it! I want to take it off, but if I take off this country's national jewel in front of royalty, that would be an insult. It may even lead to my execution. If I ever get killed, there's no way I can assassination Prince Natsu.

And this choker looks exactly like a collar that someone would put on an animal. Is he treating me like a dog?! That jerk!

Wendy also does my makeup, which I am guessing many ladies do in this country. Even a mere maid like her is wearing makeup. In Fiore, only the nobles wear it, so I have never worn it before.

"I am finished, Mistress," she says after almost an hour of dressing me up.

I look at the mirror and my eyes widen. I look absolutely stunning. I had no idea I could look so… beautiful. I look almost like a noble with these high quality clothes. But then I stare at the ground in frustration. How dare that stupid prince make a fool of me! Making a commoner like me dress like a noble in his country? He has the nerve!

Suddenly, there is a knock on the door.

"Come in," Wendy says.

The door opens and it is that idiot prince again. "Hey," he says with a grin. "Looking nice, _girl._ " He looks at his subordinates. "You can leave now. I wanna be alone with my future wife."

"Yes, Your Highness," Wendy and Sting say with a bow. Then they close the door and leave the room."

Holy crap. We are alone.

"Since when did I agree to be your wife?" I say angrily.

"Hm…" he says, scratching his chin. "It's not something you can agree to, _girl_. It's an order. If I say that you will become my bride, you _must_ become my bride." He grins at me. "Get it?"

Since I won't tell him my name, he keeps calling me _girl_. Like he looks any older! In my opinion, he looks about a year younger than me, so how dare he treat me like so disrespectfully! In my country, everyone must be respectful of their seniors, even if they are only a year older. Damn this asshole.

He walks over to me and begins to play with the ruby gem on my choker.

"Hm?" he says. "Rubies look better on you than I thought."

"Like hell they do!" I scream. "Rubies are outrageous!"

"Huh?" he says. "You speak as if you are from Fiore!" he laughs.

I cringe. I almost tell him that I am from the ruby hating country, Fiore, but I keep my mouth shut. If he ever finds out that I am from the enemy kingdom, there is no doubt that he would kill me right on the spot.

"Won't you tell me your name already?" Prince Natsu says. "It's odd that I don't even know my own wife's name."

"You aren't even sixteen you goddamn bastard," I say. "So don't even think twice about marriage."

"Huh?" he says as if I said something odd. "I'm not that young! I'm nineteen."

Huh? My eyes widen. He's _three_ years older than me? I can't even imagine that with that childish look of his.

"Since I am turning twenty soon, I will need a wife," he says. "So that's where you come in!" He points to me, making his goofy grin again. "You will be my queen."

"Shut your crap," I say angrily. "I never agreed to being your wife."

Prince Natsu looks at me questionably. "But if you marry me, you'll become the queen of the Dragoon Kingdom," he says. "And I can give you anything with the amount of money I have. I can get you mountains of gold and diamonds if that is what you wish."

"I don't freaking _want_ gold or diamonds!" I scream.

"Then what do you wish? I can give you anything after all. All you gotta do is marry me."

"Hm…" I say. "I wish for you to be freaking _dead_."

"Hm?" he says with a laugh. "You really sure are an interesting girl. I really do like you."

My heart beats again for some reason. _Like_? That words seems this odd shiver to my spine. Why do I have a bad feeling about this? My stomach keeps churning and my face is hot. Just the word _like_ is driving me insane. Why?

"Well I despise you with both my heart and soul and wish for you to die!" I scream back.

"You'll fall in love with me soon," the stupid prince says. His bangs are covering his eyes so I can't tell whether he is serious or not.

"Huh?"

"You will fall in love with me and accept my proposal," he says with confidence. He makes a large smirk. "You can count on it."

Really…? Is he _that_ stupid?

But that confidence… really does scare me.

 **\- End of Chapter 3 -**

Hi guys! How are you liking Lucy and Natsu's personalities in this fanfic? Hope you are enjoying it as much as I am! Haha.

Thank you so much for your nice reviews so far by the way! I really enjoy reading them! Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story!

See you next chapter ;)

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	4. Chapter 4

A night has passed at the Dragoon Kingdom and I still have no idea what to do. I couldn't sleep at all. The stupid prince proposed to me, despite me wanting to kill him, and even says that he will make me fall for him! And he even expects me to tell him my _name_. What nerve.

Wendy comes into my room at around seven a.m. to help me get my dress and makeup done. Today it is a red dress. It is also knee high. What an odd fashion. I still can't get used to it. And this dog like choker is still around my neck, what a pain.

I hear a knock at the door. "Mistress?" the male voice says. "Are you done dressing? It's Sting."

"Y-Yes," I say, still not used to the _Mistress_ title. "I'm ready."

Sting opens the door and his hair is still gelled back neatly. "His Highness asked me to bring you to his room," he says. "Please follow me, Mistress."

Wendy bows to me as I leave the room. They treat me like nobility since they are assuming that I will take the title of the queen of the Dragoon Kingdom. But I absolutely will _not_.

Sting leads me through the same hallways as the other day and I walk past that huge painting of King Igneel and his queen. I try not to look at it, or else I know that I'll be frozen at the spot again. So instead, I stare at the back of Sting's head. It is the only thing I can look at without seeing this disgusting castle.

For some reason, Sting gives off this odd feeling of… familiarity. As if I knew him in another life or something. Well, it's probably just my imagination because his hair is blond. It is really rare that I see a blond. It is an unusual hair color after all. I have never seen another person with blond hair besides myself, and now Sting I guess.

I notice something jingling on Sting's belt. Curiously, I take a glance. It is shimmering in the sunlight. Six gold keys? Probably to the rooms in the castle. But why are they so oddly shaped? Do they really open _doors_?

Oh, what am I saying? Of course they open doors. What else would they open?

 _The door to the gods._

Suddenly, I flip my head behind me. I swore that I just heard a voice, but there is no one behind me but the maids and butlers who are bowing to me as I walk past.

"Is there something wrong, Mistress?" Sting asks.

"It's… nothing," I say, turning back forward. Man, my imagination is weird.

We walk to the doorway of Prince Natsu's room. Sting is about to open the door, but he suddenly stops. I raise an eyebrow, confused. But then I hear voices inside Natsu's room. He is talking to someone already. But who?

"You're nineteen, Prince Natsu," I hear a man say. He is not calling Prince Natsu _Your Highness_ , which must mean that he is a close friend or a noble of similar status. "You must take the title of the King as soon as possible!"

"I know that," I hear Prince Natsu say. "So I already chose a bride."

"How about my daughter?" the man says. "You know that she is the princess of my kingdom. If you marry her, we can combine powers and defeat anyone in our way! Even that country of _Fiore_."

Fiore… that's my country, the enemy of this place.

"I don't care who I marry!" Prince Natsu yells angrily. "As long as I get anyone to be my queen, that's enough to raise my title to _King_ , right? I don't need to marry your princess!"

Huh? I can't hear anything anymore. Of course Natsu didn't care who he married. He just wanted to be King as soon as possible. It didn't matter who he married. As long as he had a queen, he could become King. He just chose me because I happened to be there.

Wait, why does my heart feel so heavy? It doesn't matter anyway! It's not like I am going to marry him, especially with his half-baked feelings. _I like you_? What lies.

Suddenly, I hear a crash at the door. The man who was talking to Prince Natsu earlier burses out of the door, walking away so angrily that he doesn't even notice Sting and me at the door.

Sting bows to me, signaling that I may go into the room. But for some reason, I am hesitant after hearing such a conversation. I go in anyway though, but my legs feel like lead as I move forward.

"Ah, _girl_ ," Prince Natsu says, greeting me. "Good morning. How did you sleep?"

"I didn't sleep at all," I reply coldly.

"Hm… that's not good," he says. "So are you going to tell me your name today?" he asks with that dumb smirk on his face.

"No," I say. I cross my arms. "I refuse to tell you anything about me."  
I glance at him. He is scratching his head, as if he were troubled.

"You really don't need me, do you?" I find myself questioning. What am I saying? My mouth is moving on its own. I can't control my anger. "You just want to be King, right? You really can marry any other girl. It doesn't have to be me."

Prince Natsu's eyes widen. "You… You heard?"

"Yes," I say. I have no idea why I am even questioning him. It's not like we are going to get married or anything.

"It's not what it sounded like!" he says, waving his hands to show more emotion.

"My _ass_ , it's not what it sounded like!" I yell. "You said so yourself! _As long as I get anyone to be my queen, that's enough to raise my title to King._ Really, you just want to be King once you turn twenty. And I just so happened to be there when you decided that!"

I am about to walk out of his room when I feel his hand coil around my wrist. His bangs cover his eyes, so I can't tell what he is thinking.

"You're fine with any girl, aren't you?!" I shout. "So let me go!"

"That was just an impulse of the moment!" he argues back. "If I didn't say that, he would have never left me alone!"

"I don't understand you!" I say. "If you can get anyone to marry you, why did you choose me?! You might as well marry to a princess of another kingdom to gain more power-"

"NO!" Prince Natsu suddenly shouts, surprising me. My heart even skips a beat in shock. I look at his face. He looks completely serious, something that is rare to see. Usually he is just kidding around, but this time he is dead serious. Why?

"You are the first one…" he mutters, his grip around my wrist tightens.

"Huh?"

"Every time a woman would come over to see me, all she would try to do is try to win my heart," he says. "Marriage this. Marriage that. I was dead sick of it!" he screams. "All she wanted was my power, not me for who I was."

I couldn't not believe him. He was a prince. Any woman would want to be his queen to elevate her status. I almost felt bad for him. Note _almost_. His parents still killed mine. I couldn't feel bad for him. I had to kill him eventually. Not an emotion of pity. No mercy.

"You were the first who didn't take interest in me," Prince Natsu says. "In fact, you even tried to _kill_ me." He begins to play around with the cuff of his white dress shirt. His cheeks are tinted pink. "You were the first one who didn't want to marry me for my status. So if I make you fall for me, it won't be because of power, but true love. That's why it _has_ to be you."

I don't understand his reasoning, but for reason I am a bit touched. Nobility and everything, I never really understood it, but there was one thing that I knew for sure. Wealth didn't always mean happiness.

"You know, I had never seen a female knight before," he says as he walks to his couch and sits. He takes a few deep breathes. "So when I saw you, I was curious about your strength. Whoever sent you to assassinate me must have had a lot of trust in you. And..." Prince Natsu covers his red face with his arm. "I guess I like strong girls like you… who don't rely on others… You know, an independent woman. You don't see a lot of females like that. They all just wait for the man to protect them."

I am speechless. He isn't wrong. Most woman in this era are just housewives. They relied on men, the _strong_ ones. But I didn't want that. I didn't want to wait for men to do things for me. I wanted to do it myself, even if they could do better than me. I wanted to protect myself.

But the only reason why I started to do this was because of the death of my parents.

"But my reason for becoming independent wasn't pure," I mumble in an inaudible voice as I allow myself to sit next to him on the couch. "I just wanted revenge. I just wanted to kill you."

Prince Natsu smiles at me. He pats my head and messes up my hair. "Don't worry, I won't ask why."

Huh? He heard me? How? I spoke so softly too!

But the hand he has over my head is so gentle and warm. It is soothing, like home. He smiles at me, his big goofy smile. But I no longer think it looks stupid. It is his trademark smile and it is beautiful.

I look to my right and see my knife that I was supposed to use to kill Prince Natsu. It is in my hands' reach, but for some reason, I don't grab it.

 _Maybe… I don't need to kill him now…_ I think to myself.

I yawn. I am getting sleepy. Probably because I didn't sleep at all last night.

Suddenly, I feel Prince Natsu's hand touch the side of my head and gently push my head onto his shoulder. "You didn't sleep, right?" he mumbles. "You should rest."

"Mmm…" I say. I don't have any strength to resist.

"Lucy," I find myself saying.

"Huh?" Prince Natsu says, confused.

"My name… is Lucy," I mumble before falling into deep sleep.

\- **End of Chapter Four -**

Hi guys! So these four chapters are just the introductory chapters ;) Next chapter is when all the action is coming in! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next one!

~ _ **Metallic Snow**_


	5. Chapter 5

**_Pst… Lucy._**

 **Huh?**

 ** _Lucy!_**

 **What?**

 ** _You got to wake up._**

 **I am awake.**

 ** _No, not like that. You got to wake up. Your distant relative is here. He will awaken you._**

 **Relative? I don't have any. They're all dead. And what do you mean awaken? Who are you anyway?**

 ** _Wake up, Daughter of Crius. It is your time._**

* * *

My eyes flutter open. I am leaning on something soft. I can feel someone's head leaning on mine. I try to get up, but my head is stuck.

I look down. My hands are intertwined with someone's hand. The hand is big, yet it fits perfectly into mine. It has blisters all over it, but it is warm and gentle.

Suddenly, I hear a snore. My heart beats in surprise. I look to see who it is and my eyes widen.

I am sleeping on Prince Natsu's shoulder and holding hands with him.

"AH!" I scream.

"Huh?!" Prince Natsu says with a snort, waking up. He looks at me and sighs. He scratches his eyes and yawns like a child. "Lucy? What's wrong?"

"You… hand…" I can't speak right. But when he says my name so casually, my chest hurts and I feel hot. I hope that I am not ill or anything. The way he says my name makes me go crazy, and it hurts. My stomach feels like a million things are churning inside. But for some reason, I don't hate this feeling.

"Oh," he says, but he doesn't let go of my hand. Instead, he gets up and pulls me off the couch.

"Come with me," he says with a grin.

"Why?" I question, raising an eyebrow.

"Just come."

I allow him to pull me out of his room. Sting follows us from behind to guard. I don't know where Prince Natsu is taking me, but he runs through the halls like a kid. I can barely keep up to his speed. I have never met someone who ran this fast. Sting seems to be following him fine though.

I notice that Sting keeps looking at me. But it doesn't seem to be like he is looking at me with affection. He seems to be examining me, as if I were a weird specimen. It doesn't seem like he is suspicious of me. He just seems… intrigued.

Ah, he's probably looking at me because of my hair. Blond hair is very rare after all. It makes me stand out a lot. I guess this is his first time seeing someone else with natural blond hair as well.

Prince Natsu pulls me through the hallways and then throws a door open, and immediately, the sun outside blinds me. Where are we?

My vision slowly comes back and my eyes widen. It is a huge meadow… of flowers. How did they grow _this_ in a middle of a desert? I didn't know but I didn't care either. It was beautiful. There seemed to be every color of the world here.

"Wow…" I mumble.

"Hehe," Prince Natsu laughs. "I thought you would like it! When I first saw you, you really reminded me of this garden."

This garden reminded him of me? Why? Wait a second, how could it remind him of me if he never knew me before? I'm sure that this garden was here for longer than I was. I was confused, but I didn't pay attention to the details. The colors mesmerized me.

"How does it work?" I ask. "I thought your kingdom was a desert." I walk around the meadow. It is breezy, unlike the hot weather I felt the other day. It seems to be the perfect weather, not too cold, not too hot.

"Uh… Don't think about it too much!" Prince Natsu says, obviously hiding something. "Nice weather, huh?"

"Your Highness!" suddenly I hear Sting shout. "It's coming!"

"Huh?" I say. What is he talking about? I can see Prince Natsu closing his eyes and, for some reason, he is sniffing the air. What is he smelling? I try taking a sniff as well, but all I smell are the floral scents of flowers. Nothing seems off.

"Shit… Why now?" Prince Natsu mutters under his breath. He looks at Sting. "Get Lucy out of here now!"

Sting runs over to me and is about to grab my arm to pull me away from Natsu, but suddenly, I hear a loud crash and a roar. What was that? It sounded almost like a monster, but slightly human. My body begins to tremble in fear. Something tells me that wasn't human. It was supernatural.

Another roar rings through the meadow and I hear a loud _boom_. Fire blasts out from the distance and out of that explosion walks a man with dirty yellow and brown hair that covers his left eye. He looks like an ordinary person from a far distance, until he walks closer and I can notice odd features of him.

His hair shapes two ears above his head, like a cat. His teeth are pointy and his nose is small and black, like a dog's. A fluffy tail comes out of his behind. His skin on his feet and hands are pure black. He looks like an animal and a man combined.

"What…" I say. "What is he?"

"Stand back Lucy," Prince Natsu says in a stern tone. He grabs my hand and moves me behind him. "What do you want, Jackal?" he shouts.

"Oh?" the man named Jackal says as he walks closer. He smirks. "Just the life of the little prince." Then he tilts his head and makes eye contact with me. My heart skips a beat in fear. "Oh? Is that a woman you got there?"

"Don't get any closer to her," Prince Natsu says angrily.

"Looks nice to explode," Jackal says while licking his lips.

I gulp nervously. Why do I have a bad feeling about this? The aura this man gives off is unusual.

Suddenly, another explosion erupts right next to me. I scream in surprise and fear. What is going on? What is with these random explosions?!

"Jackal!" Prince Natsu exclaims madly.

"If I explode the lady, I wonder how you would react?" Jackal laughs. I see something white glimmering in his hands. He moves one arm backwards and opens it. He creates a half gold shining magic circle in the air.

My eyes widen. Magic?  
I see Jackal grip his fingers together and punch the ground, hard. Instantly, a massive explosion that forms a spiralling column blasts out towards me.

I don't even have time to scream.

An arm pushes me off balance and I fall to the right. I make impact with the ground hard with someone on top of me.

"Mistress! Are you alright?" I hear the person who saved me say. He immediately gets off of me which allows me to see who it is. It is Sting. He extends his hand, helping me up. "Hurry. We must go."

I take his hand and stand up, but I refuse to move from my spot. "We can't just leave the prince here alone!" I exclaim.

"His Highness will be fine!" Sting shouts. This is the first time I have heard him raise his voice. Subordinates are never supposed to yell at their masters or mistresses, so I know that Sting must be desperate.

Is he hiding something from me?

"What was that?" I exclaim. "The explosions! That magic circle-"

"Don't think about it," Sting says, interrupting me. "Mistress, please just come with me," he urges.

He pulls me with my hand and I take a step. Suddenly, a bright light blinds Sting and me. I cover my eyes and after a while, my vision comes back. I am about to take another step when Sting suddenly shouts, "DON'T MOVE!"

"Huh?" I say. Sting seems to be looking down at something, so curiously, I also take a look. My eyes widen. A magic circle is underneath the two of us. It is so brightly white that it almost blinds me.

"Don't move," Sting mutters under his breath.

"As expected of the prince's most trusted butler," Jackal laughs. "Yes, it is my landmine. One step out of there and you'll blow up!"

"Damn you!" Prince Natsu shouts. He begins to sprint towards Jackal in great speed.

No. No. If he gets any closer to Jackal, he'll die! There is no way an ordinary human being can go against something like that!

"NATSU!" I scream. I am about to run after him, but Sting's hand wraps around my arm, making me unable to move. "Let me go!" I cry, turning to Sting. "Natsu! Natsu is-"

"Were you not listening?!" Sting shouts. "One step out of this magic circle, and we both blow up!" His grip on my arm tightens, so much that it begins to hurt. "And His Highness will be fine, Mistress. Don't worry."

" _Don't worry_ , my ass!" I shout. "That animal-looking guy is doing something weird! I can just feel it! He's not using ordinary bombs!"

"No shit!" Sting shouts back, tightening his grip on my arm. "That's why you got to stick with me and don't move."

However, at the corner of my eye, I see a fire flaming. I turn my head to get a better look and my eyes widen. Prince Natsu is on fire. Literally. His whole body from head to toe is covered in fire as he sprints. Flames are gathering into his body. A red magic circle is beginning to appear at his head, but then it begins to bend, pointing like a cone or spear.

"What…?" I say in confusion.

"Relax," Sting says. "His Highness is the descendant of the Dragons after all."

Wait… What?

"Fire Dragon's…" I hear Prince Natsu say loudly. "Sword Horn!"

Prince Natsu crashes into Jackal, head first. An explosion of fire erupts, blasting in all directions. Sting holds onto me to keep me from falling from the air pressure. Jackal flies off his feet and crashes into a nearby tree. I can hear a couple of his bones crack. Instantly, the magic circle surrounding Sting and me breaks and we are free to move around again.

Slowly, the flames surrounding Prince Natsu die out, and the meadow is once again normal. It is as if there was no explosions to begin with. The grass is as green as ever and the flowers are blooming normally. It is as if all I just saw was a dream.

I look back at where Jackal was, but to my surprise, he has vanished.

But what were those flames? How is Prince Natsu still standing fine even though he was just completely on fire? And what Sting was saying… descendant of the Dragons? What does that mean?

\- **End of Chapter Five -**

Sorry for not posting in so long guys! School started a little over a month ago and I have been really busy. Thank you so much to those of you who were patient. I really appreciate it!

Also, sorry if this development in the story is too sudden or fast. If you have any complaints on it, please feel free to PM me or review.

Thank you so much for reading guys, and please look forward to the next chapter! :)

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	6. Chapter 6

"What… was that?" I stammer, so shocked that I fall to my knees. Sting grabs my arm to support me so I can stand again.

So a weird man with a tail just exploded everything and the whole garden was on fire, but suddenly the flames are gone and the grass is as green as it was earlier… like magic.

"Lucy, listen," Prince Natsu says as he walks towards me. I am too awestruck to move.

"Please don't be frightened," he says in desperation. He grabs me and hugs me tight. I can feel his tears dripping onto my shoulder and slowly flowing down to my arms. "I'll explain!" he cries. "I'm not a dragon or demon… monster, any of the sort!" He tightens his hug. "Please don't be scared."

I am about to push him off in embarrassment since he is hugging me like this in front of Sting. But suddenly, he looks up at me and I can see his tears in his eyes. He looks so desperate and afraid, as though he is scared that I'll leave him.

Slowly, I put my arms around his neck and rest my head on his chest. "You're okay," I whisper calmly. "Calm down, I'm not afraid. I won't go anywhere."

Wait a second, what the heck am I saying? I have to kill this guy!

"Your Highness, you must not lie to her," Sting says, walking up to us. "Because you are indeed a dragon."

Huh? A dragon?

I can feel Natsu's body go stiff when Sting mentions the word _dragon_. Is that word a taboo to him or something? Slowly, his tight hug loosens and he lets go of me.

"Yeah, that's right," he says. "I'm a dragon."

I stare at him and don't say anything. A dragon? How? He looks more human to me, terrified of himself and lonely. Slowly, I put my hand on his cheek. His eyes widen but he doesn't move. His skin is soft, like a human. I can feel his warmth on my hand.

"No, you're human," I say.

"His Highness is a dragon, Mistress," Sting says.

"What... What are you saying?" I say. "He's human! Look!"

Prince Natsu puts his hand on my shoulder. "He's right Lucy," he says. "I'm only in my human form at the moment. But I am indeed a dragon, guardian of the Dark Lord's seal."

"Dark Lord?" I say in confusion. "You mean Jackal?"

"Allow me to explain," Sting says. "About five hundred years ago, there was a Dark Lord destroying our people. He was known as Zeref."

Zeref. That name makes me cringe. I have an odd feeling from that name.

"The gods tried to seal him before he could cause any more trouble, but he was too powerful for any ordinary sealing. They had to use link magic."

"Life link?" I say.

"Stop Sting," Prince Natsu says. "She doesn't need to know anymore than that."

Sting shakes his head. "No," he says. "I've been sensing it since the beginning, ever since she invaded the castle. She's one of _them_ , Your Highness. The Chosen Ones."

"No!" Prince Natsu exclaims. "She isn't! I swear! Don't bring her into this!"

Sting stares at him. "So you knew."

The Chosen Ones? What in the world are they saying?

"Wait Sting," I say. "What is link magic? What do you mean by the Chosen Ones?"

"Let me continue," Sting says. "So only link magic could seal Zeref. Link magic is kind of like the locks to a gate, one might say. The locks are the lives of a living thing and all their descendants. The dragons volunteered themselves to be used as the life links to seal Zeref away. Because of this their descendants, such as His Highness, carry this burden to stay alive, or else Zeref will unseal and we will be doomed to his dark magic and darkness will once again consume the world. Then most likely, all humanity will be lost."

Life links… so if Prince Natsu ever died, everyone would lose their humanity? I shiver just from the thought of it. And to think that I was trying to assassinate such an important person.

"But the demons of Zeref remain," Sting explains. "And we don't know how, but they're immortal. No matter how many times we kill them, they always return."

Demons… like that guy named Jackal from earlier. Prince Natsu did kill him, but if he is immortal, that means that he can still come back. The thought of something coming back to life like that creeps me out. Aren't the demons just like zombies then?

"These demons are trying to kill every descendant of the dragons, which is the royal bloodline of the Dragneel's," Sting says. "You do remember when His Highness's parents were killed in that carriage accident-"

"I think I should explain," Prince Natsu interrupts. "You've already told her too much yourself Sting."

Sting bows. "My apologies, Your Highness."

"Anyway," Prince Natsu says. "So my parents died in a carriage accident, but do you really think it was any normal accident? After all, only the finest horses are allowed to pull a King and Queen's carriage."

Slowly, I shake my head. He is right. There is no way they could've died from any ordinary carriage accident. It's too unbelievable.

"Zeref's demons attacked them," Prince Natsu explains. "And… And they didn't make it." He looks down at the ground. I can tell that he is trying his best to act like he's all cool about it, but it is as clear as day that he isn't.

"I… I…" I am about to say _I'm sorry for your lost_ , but then I think about my parents who were killed during the war with his country. I know exactly how he feels. When people say things like that, it just makes me feel worse. So instead of saying that, I walk up to Prince Natsu and hold his hand.

"I'm here for you now," I say, gripping his hand tight. "You aren't alone."

Suddenly, tears form under his eyes, but he quickly wipes them away with his sleeve to hide them. "Thanks," he murmurs. "Me too, I'm here for you too."

I smile, then suddenly raise an eyebrow. _Too_? He talks as if he knew I lost my parents as well. But there's no way. I never told him. I think that I'm just thinking too hard about this.

"And how Sting is related to this," Prince Natsu says. "He is my protector, a demigod."

"Demigod?" I ask.

"Half human, half god," Sting replies. "The gods noticed that the demons of Zeref were trying to unseal him, so they put their blood into several humans known as the _Chosen Ones_. These god-like humans protect the descendants of the dragons from the demons."

My eyes widen. Demigod… amazing.

"Leucothea's blood lies within me," Sting says. "She is known as the white goddess. I am His Highness's protector."

Suddenly, I remember something. He said something about me, being part of the _Chosen Ones._

" _Survey the Heavens, Open the Heavens…_ " Sting begins to say. Instantly, his eyes turn from dark blue to bright yellow. A magic circle forms in his eyes. " _All the stars, far and wide. Show me thy appearance with thy shine._ "

Suddenly, I feel a flash of light emit from my eyes. " _I am the ruler of the stars,_ " my mouth says on its own. " _Aspect become complete._ " What am I saying?! I can't control myself!

Soon the light dies and everything becomes normal again, as if nothing ever happened. What was that? What were those words that I was saying?

"No… No… No," Prince Natsu mutters. "Why?"

"I knew it," Sting says. "You have the blood of Crius."

"Crius?" I ask. Who is that?

"Crius is the god of the constellations," Sting says. "I knew there was something off about you, especially that blond hair."

My hair? What did that have to do with this?

"A clear sign that you are a demigod is hair color," Sting explains. "Not many people have blond hair and I'm sure that your parents didn't either."

"Wait, are you saying that my parents adopted me?" I ask. My hair color wasn't anything like my parents. Mother and Father both had brown hair, far from blond. I wonder how I never really thought about that.

"No," Sting says. "You were definitely born from your mother. But the god Crius has put his blood into your bloodstream which turned your hair golden, or blonde."

"Wait a minute," I say. "I can't understand." I can't accept what he is saying. Everything just seems to be like a fairy tale. No way this can all be real.

"Have you ever thought that you had unreal strength?" Sting asks. "Or seemed to excel in academics more than normal people your age?"

"N-" I am about to deny when suddenly memories of the Knight Academy fill my mind. I remember my first practice match with the strongest boy in my grade, two years older than me. Somehow I overpowered him and beat him. And I do have the title of Strongest Knight in Fiore even though I am a female.

"Exactly," Sting says, as if he read my mind. Then he takes out those golden keys I saw him carrying earlier. "These keys have been reacting oddly to you also. They probably belong to you." He throws them at me and I quickly catch them.

"What… What are these?" I ask. Each of the keys have weird, but unique, symbols on each of them. Then my eyes widen. They are symbols of the zodiac, the twelve constellations.

"I'm not sure," Sting says. "But since you have the blood of Crius, your instincts will tell you in battle."

Well _that_ was a detailed explanation. But for some reason, I sense a large mass of power within each key. I don't know how I know, but I can just feel it. It's the strangest feeling.

"And about your parents," Prince Natsu says. "They weren't actually executed by my parents."

"Huh?" I stammer. Wait, he really did know about my parents. How?

"They got caught up with a fight with Zeref's demon who was trying to kill my parents and me… and they didn't make it," he says. "I'm sorry… I couldn't save them. We covered up their death by announcing that we executed them. I'm so sorry…"

"Wait," I say. "How did you know my parents died? I never told you about anything like that."

Suddenly, Prince Natsu cringes. His eyes widen and quickly he covers his mouth.

I grab Prince Natsu's wrist and pull his hand off of his mouth. "Tell me," I say. "Why didn't you kill me back when I was trying to assassinate you? Any normal person with the right mind would just kill me. Why did you let me live?" I grip his wrist tighter. "You know me… don't you. Somehow, maybe I just don't remember, but you know me from the past. How… How did you know me?"

Prince Natsu stares at the ground, refusing to make eye contact with me.

I grab his chin and force him to look me into the eye. "Look at me," I say. "Tell me how you know me."

"I… I…" Prince Natsu gulps. "It was nine years ago. You were seven and I was ten… It was a little after your parents were killed. Then was when I met you."

I raise an eyebrow. I don't remember meeting anyone new at that time. Also, there is no way I would forget meeting a boy with pink hair. Everyone in Fiore knew that only the Dragneel's royal family could have that color. If I ever met him at that age, I would've probably assassinated him at once from my hatred of the Dragoon Kingdom.

"I was the boy you saved," Prince Natsu says.

Boy I saved…? Is he mistaking me for someone else? My eyes widen. Wait, now that I think about it, I did meet a boy on a roadside who was injured. But his hair wasn't pink… it was black. I can't remember his name though. I don't think he ever told me.

I rub my head. "Black… hair?" I mutter.

Prince Natsu nods.

Oh god… I remember now. He was _that_ boy. Everything is coming back to me now. He was the boy lying unconscious on the roadside nine years ago.

 **\- End of Chapter 6 -**

Hey! Sorry this chapter was a bit boring. This is just an info chapter. But next chapter will be about Lucy and Natsu's past and how they met. :3 Hope you enjoy~

If any of you found this chapter confusing, please PM me and I will change it ^.^

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	7. Chapter 7

_Nine years ago…_

When I was seven, every day during the war against the Dragoon Kingdom, I would take the same road to the tallest hill in my town to wait for my parents' return. I would bring an apple from the tree my father worked so hard to grow and make black tea with the freshly squeezed lemons from the marketplace. They were my parents' favorites.

Every time I walked down that road, people nearby would yell to me, saying, _you're wasting your time_ or _they're already gone_. But I ignored them and continued to wait.

One day as I was walking to the mountain with my basket filled with an apple and a bottle of tea, I happened to come across a… well… what I thought was a log lying on the side of the road. As I walked past it, my eyes widened.

It was a boy.

He looked about a year or two older than me, tall and muscular, and had dark black hair. He was panting hard and was drenched with blood. His hand was over his hip, where the most blood was flowing from. He seemed to have suffered several gunshot and stab wounds.

Quickly I ran over to him. "Hey you!" I shouted. "You alright?"

No reply.

I got on my knees next to his body and put my finger underneath his nostrils. I could feel air entering and leaving him. Thank god. He was still breathing, but I had to stop his bleeding fast.

I grabbed his hand and forced him to stop gripping onto his hip. Then I quickly lifted his shirt to see a horrible wound that could be fatal if not treated immediately. I shivered when I thought about how much pain he must have been in. That wasn't his only wound, however. He had scars everywhere. How could one even get this many scars on his body?

Luckily, Mother had taught me a little about first aid, so I grab the end of my dress and rip it. Then I wrap it around his waist to stop the blood flow.

"Ugh…" he moans.

I tied the knot tight and slowed his blood flow, but now I had to figure out how to get him to safety. The hospital was all the way in the other side of town, but my house was only about a quarter of a mile. Maybe Mother's old books could help me learn how to help this boy.

I grabbed his arm and tried to lift him. He was quite heavy, but somehow my skinny body was able to lift him. I put his arms around my neck and grabbed his legs to keep him on my back. Then, I carried him as fast as I could to my little home.

It took me about ten minutes to walk back, only a little slower than usual. The boy seemed to lose so much blood that he fell unconscious. I quickly unlocked my door and carried the boy to my bed. I carefully laid him down and then ran to the bookshelf. There had to be something Mother left about treating patients like this.

I grabbed a random textbook and searched for the first aid section.

 _Heavy external bleeding, heavy external bleeding,_ I thought as I scanned the index. _Found it!_

I quickly read through the textbook and somehow understood it immediately. Quickly, I ran back to the boy, whose blood was already bleeding through the cloth I tied earlier, and grabbed a clean towel from my bathroom. I firmly pressed the towel to his waist area and then tied it tight around. According to the book, I shouldn't remove the bandage and keep adding bandages on top of it if it bleeds through.

I then put his legs up on my bedpost, which would hopefully help his blood stop flowing out.

I wiped the sweat off my forehead when I was done. He should be okay now. He still had dried blood all over the rest of his body though. Was that his blood? Or someone else's? I didn't want to know. I just knew that I had to wipe him off.

I walked back to my bathroom and damped another clean towel. Then I went back to the boy and started wiping his face and chest. I couldn't help but wonder how a boy like him ended up on the roadside like that.

When I got to washing his hair, I raised an eyebrow in confusion when I saw the roots of his bangs. It was barely there, about just a millimeter long, but the roots were red, or pinkish really. I thought it was blood so I tried to wash it off, but it wouldn't come off. Irritated, I just gave up. Perhaps the blood there had already dried.

I stared at his facial appearance. His eyes were closed, but I could still see his chest moving up and down slowly. He was alive, thank god.

His skin was slightly tanned and his way of dress looks very different. He must not have been from Fiore. He looked as though he came from a desert, unlike the cold weather where I lived. Most people from Fiore were pale too, so his tan skin practically screamed out _foreigner._

I looked out the window, where the road was. Usually, I would wait at the hill, but I guessed that today would be an exception. Knowing my parents, they would never abandon someone who needed help. And in this case, this boy needed my help. I couldn't leave him for my selfish reasons.

I decided to wash his shirt and prepare some warm food so when he woke up, he could have something to eat. I also dug some of my father's old clothes out. His thin clothing was definitely not suited for Fiore weather. I guessed that I would wait for him to wake up so he could change himself. For the moment, I just put my blankets over him for warmth.

After a couple of hours, I heard a groan from the boy. Quickly I ran to the bed to check up on him. He was rubbing his eyes, just woken up.

"Hey!" I exclaimed. "Have you come to?"

He opened his eyes and gradually sat up. Then he just stared at me.

I raised an eyebrow. "Uh… Do you speak English?"

He nodded. "Where am I?" He wrapped his arms around his body as his teeth chattered. He must have been freezing without a shirt.

"This is my home," I replied. I handed him one of my father's old jackets. "It's a bit big but wear this for now. It'll keep you warm."

"Thanks," he mumbles. He looks at me and my eyes widen when I see his eye color. His eyes are narrow, unlike the round eyes of the people in my country. And his eyes are jet black, not even a little brown. I didn't think it was possible for a pupil to be that dark.

Suddenly, he went a little red, covering his face with his arm. Ah! I must have been staring at him for so long.

"S-Sorry," I said quickly. "I made some soup. Just let me heat it up for you."

He nods and I leave the room. As I lite the fire of my stove with a match, I notice that the boy was quite quiet. I guess that he was shy.

After the soup heated up, I poured some in a bowl and then walked back to the boy. He was standing up in the middle of my living room, staring at the wall. It seemed that he was looking at my family pictures on the wall. His eyes were widened as if he recognized the people in the picture. But I doubted it. He was from another country, no way he would know my parents.

I walked up to him. "That's my family," I said.

He shook a bit. I must have surprised him by accident. "Your parents?" he said.

"They're not home yet," I replied. "They're fighting for Fiore at the moment."

He looked down as if he felt guilty for some reason. "War…" he muttered.

"Yeah," I replied. "With the Dragoon Kingdom. They have always been this country's enemy." I looked at his injuries. "Are you sure that it's okay for you to be up?" I asked. I nodded my head toward the kitchen table. "Come sit down and drink some soup," I said. "You look famished."

I led him to the kitchen and had him sit at the table. "Thanks," he said quietly.

"You don't have to be so polite," I said with a laugh. "Where are you from? You don't seem to be from here."

Suddenly, he dropped his spoon, splashing the soup all over his face. "Ah!" I exclaimed. I grabbed a towel and wiped his face. "You okay?"

He nodded, but his face was bright red, probably from the hot soup. "Yeah," he muttered.

"How did you end up at the roadside, by the way?" I asked. "You could've died out there."

He shrugged as he mixed the soup with his spoon. Did he not have much of an appetite? "I got caught up in the war," he said.

"Someone as young as you?" I said.

"I guess," he replied as he took a sip of the soup.

I frowned. "Do you not like the soup?"

His eyes widened. "Of course not! I love it!" he immediately shouted. Then his cheeks flushed pink. "Uh… I mean, it has been a while since I had home-cooking."

"Really?" I said. I could feel my face blush a bit when he complimented my cooking. "Your parents never cooked for you before?"

He slowly shook his head. "They're too busy, so my butler cooks for me instead," he replied.

My eyes widened. "You're rich?"

He cringed when I said that. Was that a touchy subject? I was confused. I thought the world of the rich was happiness, but perhaps it wasn't.

"Your parents," he said. "How long have they been gone?"

I looked at him, confused. He seemed to be quite curious about my parents. "About a year and a half," I replied. "I was told that they were executed but…" I stared at a picture of them on the wall. It was their marriage photo. They were smiling, so happy. "I believe that they'll come home soon, just as they promised!" I exclaimed with a grin.

The boy stared at me. I swore that I saw a sorrowful expression flash on his face for a split second. He opened his mouth to say something but then he stopped. He just stayed quiet and drank the soup. The clinking of the spoon against the bowl was the only noise that echoed through the room.

"So what's your name?" I said.

"Name?" he asked. "My name… Sorry, I can't tell you."

I felt a sting of rejection but then again, I was a stranger to him. Of course, he wouldn't tell a stranger his name. I mean, I wouldn't either.

Suddenly, he extended his arm and touched my hair. "It's golden," he said.

I could feel myself flush. "Y-Yeah," I said.

"It's pretty."

"Thanks…" I said. I covered my red face with my arm. I was used to people complimenting my blond hair, but this was the first time a boy around my age told me that. I never had many friends my age actually before I went to Knight Academy. I was too busy waiting at that hill really to communicate with the people around me.

"I wish my hair color was as beautiful as yours," he said.

"But your hair is black," I said. In my country, having black hair was a sign of beauty because our rulers, the Fullbusters, had raven black hair. I couldn't see why he would hate it.

"I just dyed it," he said. "My actual hair color is horrible."

"It can't be that bad," I replied. "What color?"

He shrugged. "I rather not say."

I decided not to force him to give any information about himself. It would be rude of an outsider like me.

As he finished up the soup, I looked at his face. He was actually pretty good-looking and was quite muscular for his age. His narrow jet black eyes were unique but seemed to fit just right with his face. I couldn't help but wonder what his name was, where he came from. How did he even get here?

I looked outside. "Ah, it's getting dark," I said. "You should get some sleep. You can sleep on my bed. I'll just sleep in my parents' room. You should stay here for a couple of days. You don't seem to be in any condition to go outside."

He nodded as I took his empty bowl and washed it. "Okay," he said.

"Ah, take a warm bath too," I said. "Bathroom is to your right."

"Okay," he said as he went inside my bath.

* * *

The next morning, by the time I woke up, the boy had disappeared, as if he never was here in the first place. It seemed as if he being in my house was just a dream. But he left my father's jacket on the table with a messy handwritten note on top that simply said:

 _Thank you for saving me. - N.D._

N.D. Those were probably his initials. Quickly I ran outside in my pajamas, seeing if I could catch up to him, but he was already long gone.

 _I wonder if I'll see him again,_ my little seven-year-old mind thought in worry.

He must not have wanted to freeload in my house and bother me, but he was still so injured. Would he be able to stay alive out there? I told him to stay for a couple more days! Why… Why didn't he even say goodbye?

I clenched my fists together. "Idiot…" I mumbled.

 **\- End of Chapter 7 -**

Hey guys! Sorry that I haven't updated in a while. I'll try to finish and post the next chapter as soon as possible!

Also, thank you so much for 100+ followers. Your support and reviews really help me find more motivation and ideas for this story! Thank you so much for taking your time to read this chapter and see you soon! ^_^

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	8. Chapter 8

"You… You were that boy," I mutter. "The boy with black hair."

Prince Natsu nods. "I had to dye my hair to hide my identity."

He is right. If he walked into Fiore with that pink hair, he would be executed on the spot.

"Wait, why didn't you have a demigod with you or something? Like Sting," I ask. "I thought demigods were protectors of your family."

"Sting actually isn't my demigod guardian," Prince Natsu says. "At the time, he was my younger brother's."

Younger brother? I raise an eyebrow, confused.

"Let me explain," Sting says. "Every dragon has his or her demigod guardian. I was born to protect His Highness's brother, Prince Romeo Dragneel. However, he died prematurely. He had weak health, so he couldn't defend himself against Zeref's demons… and I was too weak to save him."

"Don't say that Sting!" Prince Natsu exclaims. "It wasn't your fault. You were a demigod trainee at the time!"

Sting doesn't say anything. He bites his lip, frustrated. His eyes are watery as he tries to keep his calm.

"Anyway, Lucy," Prince Natsu says, turning to me. "For the descendants of the dragons, we can easily tell who are our fated demigod protectors. It's hard to describe how, but we just know it."

"Know it?" I ask, confused.

"They just have this kind of aura," he replies. "Like your aura… it's similar to mine."

"What are you saying?" I question.

He squeezes his arm and runs his hand through his hair nervously. He opens his mouth to speak, but he seems nervous. "I knew from the day I first met you. You're my demigod guardian," he says in a shaky voice.

My eyes widen. Guardian? So I am supposed to be like Sting? I find it unbelievable. Natsu is stronger than me after all. How can a girl like me protect him? I tightly hold the keys that Sting gave me earlier. Apparently only I know how to use these, but I have no idea.

"Wait, I'm still confused-" But I am interrupted by a blast of fire on the castle walls.

"Invasion!" I hear voices shout at once from outside. "Where is His Highness?!"

"Shit," Prince Natsu swears. "Lucy, stay here! Sting, come with me!"

I watch them run off. But once they are out of sight, I quickly run after them. Yeah right, I'm just going to sit around her after hearing such a loud explosion. I still don't understand what's going on, but what I do know is that I am Prince Natsu's demigod. If something goes wrong, I have to save him.

Quietly, I follow Sting and Prince Natsu.

As they are running, I hear Prince Natsu shout, "What's going on?" to one of his soldiers.

"I heard from a messenger," the soldier replies. "The prince of the Country of Fiore has invaded!"

The prince of Fiore? My eyes widen. His Highness Gray! What is he doing here? Crap, the mission! I was supposed to kill Prince Natsu! How am I supposed to explain to him that I'm actually a protector of the enemy?

"Prince Gray of Fiore…" Prince Natsu says with a distasteful tone in his voice.

Suddenly, another explosion erupts. Bricks fall and crack from the castle walls. "Charge!" a familiar voice yells.

Roars of anger rip and echo through the castle halls. They are the roars of my country.

Don't tell me… Prince Gray invaded because of me? I did promise to come back after fulfilling my mission after all. Crap, he must have been worried!

I hear clinks of swords and roars of bullets fire. Bombs are exploding everywhere. It is as if the place will fall any minute. I cover my ears in fear. That is so much screaming. Is this what war is like? My whole life I have only worked as an assassin. Never have I ever had to even stand near a war zone.

Prince Gray and Prince Natsu fight each other, one on one, as the other soldiers fight. Slowly, they are moving towards my area so I can hear their conversations.

Their swords clash. It seems as though they are going to fight until the death. What should I do? Do I have to take a side? I have to stop this somehow.

Suddenly, I hear a loud crash. "Argh!" I hear someone shout. I take another peek curiously.

Oh god. Prince Natsu is on the ground and Prince Gray is holding a sword at his throat. I find this odd because Prince Gray doesn't exercise much, so how can he overpower Prince Natsu? Well, more importantly, I must find a way to stop this! I can't let Prince Natsu die!

"Where is she?" Prince Gray says angrily.

"What are you talking about?" Prince Natsu replies in a teasing tone.

"You know who I am talking about," Prince Gray says. "Give her back and I'll spare your life."

Crap. Crap. He really is talking about me. I grip onto the wall tightly, afraid to move.

Prince Natsu chuckles. "Give her back?" he mocks. "She'll be my future queen. I wouldn't give her back even if you took my life."

Uh… I never agreed to that.

"What?" Prince Gray says angrily. Quickly, he pulls out a gun from his back. I can feel my heart skip a beat in fear once I meet eyes with it. Since when did he carry such a modern weapon? I gulp nervously. I know that my parents weren't actually killed with that… but even so just looking at a gun makes me want to puke. And… I have never seen His Highness look this angry before. What was with this change in personality? I almost don't recognize him. "Lucy Heartfilia is my wife. Say that she is your queen again and I will not hesitate to shoot you on the spot."

Huh? Wife? Since when I agree to that? What's with those two?!

" _Lucy_ is my queen," Prince Natsu says.

Prince Gray glares at him angrily and I can see his finger about to pull the pistol. I can't just watch anymore. I must do something now!

Without thinking, my body runs out of the safety of the brick wall. As I run, Prince Gray pulls the pistol. Knowing that I won't get there in time, I dive towards Prince Natsu, grabbing him in a hug.

"STOP!" I scream.

Suddenly, I feel a sharp pain pierce my shoulder.

I hear buzzing in my ears and blood rush all over my body. I look down to see a pool of blood under me.

"LUCY!" I hear someone scream.

My vision is getting hazy. I can barely think straight. My eyelids feel heavy, so tempting to close. I can feel myself losing strength as I fall into Prince Natsu's arms.

Did I just get myself shot?

\- **End of Chapter 8** -

Hi guys! I updated a little earlier than I expected! :) I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Sorry for the long wait~ Thank you to those who posted nice reviews! (^_^)/

Hope all of you students did well in finals! See you guys next chapter!

~ **_Metallic Snow_**


	9. Chapter 9

My shoulder aches. The bullet that pierced through my flesh irritates my body. I can feel someone pressing fabric on the wound. I open my eyes and my consciousness has returned. Wendy, my maid, is bandaging my shoulder.

"Mistress!" Wendy exclaims when she sees that I am awake. She gently puts a blanket around my shoulders after she finishes bandaging. "How are you feeling? Would you like to have some tea?"

I open my mouth to answer, but my throat is too dry to speak. Wendy takes my silence as a yes and immediately begins to brew some tea.

She comes back with the tea and helps me pour it into my mouth as if I were a child. "Is your throat better now, Mistress?" she asks with a smile.

I cough a couple of times and nod. "Thank you Wendy," I say. What was I even doing before this? I can't seem to remember.

Ah! That's right! Prince Gray invaded the Dragoon Kingdom! Wait, is Prince Natsu okay?!

"Wendy! Where's Prince Natsu?" I exclaim. "And His Highness Prince Gray! What became of him?"

"Do not worry Mistress," she replies. "After you were shot, they decided to have a temporary truce. I believe that they have calmed down by now-"

"LUCY!" I hear Prince Natsu shout from outside. The door is thrown open with a crash and Prince Natsu and Gray run inside. "Are you okay?!" he shouts. He runs over to me and gives me a big hug. His grip on me is tight. My heart beats quickly when he hugs me like this. In my country, it is not common to show affection like this. Only family members, lovers, or very close friends would even hug.

His arms strongly wrap around me and presses on my injured shoulder. "Ow, ow, my shoulder!" I exclaim.

"Get off her!" Prince Gray exclaims, grabbing Prince Natsu and pulling him off me. "Can't you see that you're hurting her?"

Prince Gray turns to me. His eyes show a mix of relief and anger. "Lucy... Let us talk in private."

"But Your Highness," I begin.

"I must speak to you."

"Well, I have to have a guard then," Prince Natsu says. "How do I know that you're not trying to murder my soon-to-be wife?"

I glare at him. "Since when did I allow you to claim that-"

"You are wrong," Prince Gray says with a calm and composed expression. He takes my hand and drags me to his side. I crash into his chest as he puts his hand on my waist. "I have already set plans with my family. She is to become to next queen of Fiore."

He carefully takes my hand and helps me off the bed. I stand, a bit unstable since I am dizzy. "Now if you excuse me, I have something to talk about with my fiancee."

We walk out and close the door. Prince Gray goes from calm and composed to anger. "What do you think you're doing?!" he scolds. "Did you forget your mission?"

"N-No," I reply, a bit afraid. His Highness rarely gets mad at all.

His Highness sighs as he wipes sweat off his forehead. He must have been so worried.

"I'm sorry Your Highness," I say, putting one knee on the ground and bowing my head down. In my country, this is a sign of the greatest respect you can show to someone.

"It's fine... Please stand Lucy," Prince Gray says. "And how many times did I tell you to just call me Gray."

"Sorry Gray," I say, standing back up. I look at him and then stare back at the ground. I am dying to ask him about that... marriage he was talking about to Prince Natsu. I don't remember him saying anything about me being Queen. And it just doesn't make sense. I'm just a commoner. There's no way the royal family would allow it.

"I-I was just kidding about the marriage!" Prince Gray says, as if he read my mind. His face is slightly red but he covers it with his arm, embarrassed. "I just didn't want you being with that pink bastard, so I made up a lie on the spot. If my parents have to get involved, since they love you so much, they'll for sure follow my lie. Relax Lucy, I'll get you out of here."

Oh, I see. But... even though Fiore is my home, for some reason, I don't want to go back. It's strange, but I feel like I belong here. Prince Natsu is just so friendly and casual, far from what I expected. Odd enough, I feel closer to him than Prince Gray. Perhaps it is because Prince Natsu talks so informally all the time. It is the culture here to be casual with everyone. But with Prince Gray, I have trouble even calling his name. I always talk formally to him.

"What's wrong?" Prince Gray suddenly asks.

"It's n-nothing," I say.

"Wait."

"What is it?" I ask.

"What is that?" he says, pointing to my neck.

"Huh?" I touch my neck and touch something warm. Oh yeah! I am wearing a choker, I forgot. The choker has this oddly warm ruby in the middle, a jewel considered outrageous in my country.

"It's a ruby," he says. "Why are you wearing such a thing?! Did they force that on you?"

I am about to say "yes" but then if I tell him that they forced it on me, it would make Prince Natsu look bad. Quickly, I try to successfully change the topic. I walk back to the door and hold onto the doorknob. "Your Highness, I suggest that we go back-"

Immediately, Prince Gray grabs my wrist, not allowing me to open the door. "Wait!" he shouts. "I need to ask you something."

"Yes, Your Highness?" I ask.

"Uh..." He stares at the ground, not meeting my eye but his grip on my wrist is still very tight. "About what that pink jerk said... Are you really going to marry him?"

I open my mouth to deny but for some reason no sound comes out when I try to. So instead I just reply saying, "I don't know. He just said that on his own-"

Suddenly, I feel an arm wrap over my shoulders gently to avoid hurting my wound. "Well, she'll agree to it eventually!"

I turn my head to see Prince Natsu. I slap his hand so he would get his arm off me. "In your dreams."

"Ow, ow," he says, putting his hands up. "Okay, I get it!" He laughs.

I glare at him, but at the same time, I can't help but think about how adorable his laugh sounds. It's just like a kid.

"Prince Natsu of the Dragoon Kingdom," Prince Gray says. "I ask that you give me back my fiancee here and now."

Prince Natsu raises an eyebrow. "You kidding me?" he asks. "No way!"

Suddenly, Prince Gray takes his gun out and points it at Natsu again. His arm blocks me from intervening. His finger gently rests on the trigger. "Say that again and I'll pull the trigger."

Immediately, Sting and Wendy stand in front of Natsu as guards. They take out their guns also, not hesitating to murder Prince Gray if he even took one step towards their prince. Their eyes glare at him, seeing him as the enemy.

"No. Way," Prince Natsu says slowly, carefully enunciating every word.

Prince Gray readies his finger, about to hit the trigger.

"Stop it!" I exclaim, grabbing his hand and pointing his gun to the floor. The bullet that comes out echos through the room and leaves a small hole in the ground. I breathe deeply in relief. Just in time.

"What are you doing?!" Prince Gray shouts. "Isn't the objective to assassinate this man?"

"Well..." How am I supposed to tell Prince Gray that if we kill Prince Natsu we will all lose our humanity to the Dark Lord Zeref? And that I am actually a demigod sent to protect him ironically. "You just can't kill him, Your Highness. He's an innocent man!"

"Innocent?" Prince Gray scoffs. "He's far from that! His parents executed yours!"

"They did not!" I argue back. "That's just a misunderstanding!"

"Misunderstanding?" he says. "How do you know that this man is just telling you lies?"

"I trust him!" I exclaim. Prince Gray stares at me, speechless. "I... I believe in _Natsu_."

Prince Gray ruffles his hair and sighs. He puts his gun back in the holster. " _N_ _atsu,_ huh?" he mutters. "You don't even call me that casually even though we've been together since childhood..."

I look at him, confused. Then I realize what I just said. My heart beats seem to be heavy. I just called Prince Natsu " _Natsu_ ", a bit casual for someone of royalty. Oh no. How rude of me! But now that I think about it, ever since I met Prince Gray, he has been trying to have me call him by his given name instead of his title. But why is it so much harder for me to call him _"Gray",_ but so easy to call Prince Natsu _"Natsu_ " without him forcing me? Maybe it's because I just feel more comfortable with Natsu. He's just so informal all the time after all.

But then again, I barely even knew Natsu- I mean, Prince Natsu for a week, not including that time I saw him on the side of the road when I was seven. On the other hand, I have known Prince Gray since I was eight-years-old and played with him almost every single day. We were very close, almost like siblings, yet I still can not call him by his name.

"I see that you trust him," Prince Gray says. He turns to the door and opens it. "And I trust you, Lucy. So I trust your decision not to assassinate him."

"Your Highness..." I say.

"But..." Prince Gray turns back to me and stares at me in the eye. "I wasn't kidding about marriage."

Oh okay... Wait what?!

"I love you, Lucy Heartfilia," Prince Gray says. "And I won't allow this pink bastard take you from me."

And with that he slams the door shut and leaves. I can't even speak. I am too shocked. What just happened? Did Prince Gray just confess to me?

"Damn," Prince Natsu says. "Sting, Wendy, go lead him out the palace to make sure he doesn't get lost."

"Yes, Your Highness," Sting and Wendy say with a bow.

After they leave the room, Prince Natsu plops himself on the couch. He taps the space next to him, telling me to sit. I sit myself next to him as he wraps his arm around my shoulder gently to avoid my wound. He pushes me on his shoulder, allowing me to rest my head on him. Surprisingly, I don't feel uncomfortable. I don't try to push his arm off me either. My brain tells me to slap this asshole but my heart tells me to let him be.

I guess this is a situation where one follows his or her heart instead of the brain.

 _"Natsu_ , huh?" he says with a grin.

"What?" I say.

"That's the first time you called my name."

Huh? Really? I didn't even notice.

"I like it when you call my name," he says.

I look at him and punch his stomach. "Freak."

"Ow!" he yelps. "Okay! Okay! I'm sorry! But anyway, I feel bad for that prince of yours."

"Why do you say that?" I ask.

"Well, he says that he loves you," he says with a disgusted face. "But obviously, Lucy can only belong to me, right?"

I slap his arm off my shoulders and stand up. I cross my arms across my chest and glare at him. I can feel my blood rushing into my face, causing me to blush. "Do-Don't even think about it, you freak."

He grins. "You know, I love you as well, and I won't let that droopy eye prince of yours take you either, Lucy."

What... What are these two even thinking?! But... I kind of like it when Nat- Prince Natsu calls me by my name.

" _Lucy_?" he says.

I can't help but smile when he says my name. It's just the way he pronounces and says it. Somehow it's different from everyone else.

"Shut up _Natsu."_

 **\- End of Chapter 9 -**


	10. Chapter 10

"Good morning," I hear someone say in a sing-songy voice.

I open my eyes to meet jet black ones. The sunlight blinds me a bit as he opens the curtains. "Go away Natsu," I mumble as I cover my head with my covers.

"No," Natsu protested. I felt him sit next to me on the bed. He pokes my rib cage several times. "Get up Lucy."

"Stop," I groaned, turning my body away from him.

"If you don't get up, I'll have to use force," he says, annoyed.

"You can't force me," I reply in an irritated tone of voice.

Suddenly, I feel a small peck on my forehead. What was that? A kiss? No, it can't be. I must have imagined it.

"Okay, okay," I say, lifting the sheets off my head. "I'm getting up."

I see a smirk on Natsu's face. He messes up my hair with his big hands. They seem so warm. "I knew that you would get up if I did that," he laughs.

Huh? My eyes widen. He did kiss me! My face flushes red. Oh god. Oh god.

I hide my blush by turning away. "A-Anyway!" I exclaim, pushing him out the door. "Get out! I need to change!" I slam the door close and sigh. What the hell is wrong with him? And that kiss… geez, he could have just grabbed my blankets and take them away.

I touch my forehead. The area he kissed feels warm…

EW! What am I thinking? Am I pervert? Oh my god. What has been going on with me these days?

I look over at the clothes that Wendy had already prepared for me earlier. A lace short dress… Is that what they call a sundress over here? And these black slip on looking slippers… I think they call them "flats". Hm… The Dragoon Kingdom definitely has an interesting style, but I must admit that these dresses are too short. They should make them longer like Fiore does.

I change into these odd clothes and open the door. Natsu is outside waiting for me.

"Took you long enough," he laughs. He takes my hand and intertwined his hands. Immediately, out of instinct, I try to pull my hand away, but his grip is tight. For some reason, my strength feels oddly decreased around him. Somehow, he calms me down.

"Come on," Natsu says. "I want to bring you somewhere." I see Sting following us out, getting his gun and other weapons in his pockets. Well, he is our guard after all. I guess we are going outside or something. Or else, why would Sting be taking so much caution?

As we walk out the castle, I feel my stomach grumble. Aw, crap. How embarrassing. We haven't eaten breakfast yet.

Natsu laughs at me. Ugh, stupid stomach. But at the same time, I'm not so frustrated because his laugh is so adorable… Wait, did I just think that? No, no, no. Ew.

"Are you hungry?" he grins.

"N-No!" I exclaim. "You must have heard wrong! I was just yawning-" My stomach grumbles again. Aw shit. Why?

Natsu bursts into laughter. "Perfect," he says, tightening his grip on my hand. "Because I was going to bring you to a festival."

I raise an eyebrow. "Fes… ti… val?" I say. "What is that?"

"Huh?" Natsu exclaims. "You don't know what a festival is?"

Festival? I never heard of that word in my life.

"It's like um… a short period of time we celebrate!" Natsu says as if reading my mind. "And there are a lot of food stalls, mini games, and people!"  
I look at him, still confused.

"You'll understand when we get there," Natsu says with a smile, pulling me to the streets.

Natsu leads me to this weird looking… thing. It has two wheels and cushioned seat. It kind of looks like a bicycle… but different. He sits on it and motions me to get on.

"Uh… what is that?" I ask.

"What is what?" he says.

"That!" I exclaim, pointing at the weird… thing.

"Uh… It's a motorcycle," he replies as if I asked the dumbest question in the world. "Never seen it before?"

I shake my head.

Natsu grins. "Sit behind me," he says. "I'll show you."

I raise an eyebrow. "Uh… doesn't look too safe."

Natsu rolls his eyes and grabs my arm, pulling me towards him. "Trust me," he says, pouting. "It's fun."

"Fine," I mumble, slowly getting my legs around the seat. I wonder if this is new technology.

"Hold onto me," Natsu says, twisting the handle of his bike. I hear it make a loud roar. What was that?

I grab onto his shoulders.

"Idiot!" he laughs. "My waist! Not my shoulders!"

"O-Oh," I say, a bit embarrassed. "Wait! There's no way I'm going to hold onto your waist!"

Natsu sticks his tongue out. "Suit yourself."

Suddenly, the motorcycle moves. I feel a lunge from the bike. Holy crap! This thing is going fast! By instinct, I wrap my arms around Natsu tightly.

Hey, it's not like I want to do this. I just don't want to die, okay?

But… his back really is warm.

I look behind quickly and remember how Sting is following us with his bike. I wonder if he is ever bored just watching us. Well, I guess that is his job as our guard. But I am a guardian as well. Why is he so quiet?

* * *

"We're here," Natsu says, pulling the break. He gets off and then takes my hand, helping me get back on my feet.

He holds my hand tightly as he walks me to an area with many people and colorful stalls of every kind. Wow… The Dragoon Kingdom's flag is everywhere.

"Today is the three-hundred-ninety-seven year anniversary of our kingdom," Natsu says. "Come on, you're hungry, right? I'll buy you something."

As we walk through the crowd, everyone casually waves to the prince, Natsu. I guess formalities weren't something that big in this country. I smile as I wave to the people also. They all seem so nice here.

Natsu brings me over to a small food stall. The owner smiles at us. "How are Your Highness?" he asks. "It's an honor for you to be here."

"Oh please," Natsu laughs. "I've brought food from you so many times. Anyway, Can I have some miso soup and rice for my fiance here?" he asks.

"Your fiance?" the owner asks. "Oh my! She's beautiful!" He looks at me. "Since she must be new, I'll give you a free threadsail filefish with soy sauce!"  
"Oh no!" Natsu says. "You don't have to!"

"No, no," the owner says. "Whole meal will be free, on the house. Don't worry about it." Quickly, he walks off to prepare the food. Hm… Fish are probably really expensive here. After all, this kingdom is on a desert.

"Wait, I still have not agreed to be your fiance," I say angrily. "So don't just tell your citizens that."

Natsu pouts. "You will be eventually, though. I guarantee that even right now, you're falling for me."

I can feel my heart flutter a bit. "Psh," I say. "In your dreams."

We wait a while and soon the food arrives. We thank the owner and then find a bench to sit. Sting just stands off at a distance, watching us eat.

"Hey Natsu," I say. "Has Sting always been so quiet? Isn't he bored just standing there?"

Natsu sighs. "No, he wasn't always like this. In fact, he was the life of the party. We, including my little brother Romeo, were the closest friends. But… ever since my brother passed away because of Zeref's demons, Sting constantly blames himself for not protecting him properly as his guardian."

"Oh…" I say, not sure of how to reply.

"He doesn't feel like he has the right to be casual and talk with me normally anymore," Natsu says. "So he became this type of stoic person."

Wow… Sting… He is somewhat amazing. But, when I look at Natsu, he seems upset. He must really miss those times with Sting and his brother.

"Hey!" suddenly I hear someone shout.

I flip my head to see someone pointing at me. Is there something wrong with me?

"It's that girl!" the man shouts, creating a scene. "I swear! The girl who murdered my friend when he was on duty with me! I saw her that day on the castle walls! She killed him!"

Huh? What are they talking about? I can feel eyes death stare at me. What is going on?!

The old lady next to him widened her eyes. "That girl?! She… She was the one who killed my son?! Why… Why is she with the prince?!"

People begin to crowd around us. Natsu looks back at me and then at the crowd. I can feel the tension building up in my lungs. It is hard to breathe.

Wait a second…

No way.

Was it that time when I was invading the castle as an assassin? I do recall defending myself against a guard who was trying to kill me.

 _(from chapter 2)_

 _I look to my right. I can see a security guard who is standing near my area. He has his eyes closed, probably sleeping on the job. I don't blame him. No one has been able to climb this wall before. Well, until I came that is._

 _Okay, I got to be as quiet as possible. I slowly walk past the guard, walking towards the castle._

 _Suddenly, I hear a crack under my feet. I look down and notice that I accidentally stepped on a chicken bone. Disgusting. I look behind me to make sure that the guard is still asleep, but instead I make eye contact with him. My heart's rate begins to accelerate in fear._

" _Crap," I mutter under my breath._

 _The guard's eyes widen as he spots me. He opens his mouth wide. Shoot! He is trying to call all the soldiers to the area!_

 _I quickly move fast and sprint towards him. I move behind him and cover his mouth with my hands. In the beginning, he tries to strangle me, trying to make me lose my grip. But then he stops._

 _I look down at his hands to see what he is trying to do. My eyes widen as my heart beats in fear. He is trying to grab his knife to stab me! Dammit, I can't die now. This is just the beginning!_

 _I swiftly remove one hand while keeping the other on his mouth and unsheathe my knife. I can see the guard shiver in fear. But I could careless. Call me heartless or whatever, but I don't give a crap about a measly guard's life._

 _Quickly, I cut his throat, giving him an instant death. Then I let go of his mouth as he falls onto the ground. Dead._

 _Well, that will keep him quiet._

 _I look at my knife, now covered in blood. I wanted the prince's flesh to be the first one to taste the fine metal of this knife, but I didn't have a choice. I had to kill that stupid guard to keep him silent. Or else he would definitely report me to his nation's leaders and describe my appearance. He saw my face after all._

 _I wipe the blood off using a handkerchief. That will do for now._

No way… That man with the old lady… Was he also a guard? Did he see me? Oh, crap. Someone saw me.

I'll be labeled a murderer.

What would Natsu think of me?

He'll hate me… Oh my god.

What do I do?

\- **End of Chapter 10 -**

Hi guys! Sorry it took me so long to update. The flashback to chapter two was for readers who may have forgotten that little scene I added a while back. Hopefully, now you recall. (: I hope your days are going fine! If you want to reread the full scene of Lucy's infiltration of the castle when she was an assassin, please refer to chapter two!

Thanks so much guys!

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	11. Chapter 11

" _It's that girl!" the man shouts, creating a scene. "I swear! The girl who murdered my friend when he was on duty with me! I saw her that day on the castle walls! She killed him!"_

 _Huh? What are they talking about? I can feel eyes death stare at me. What is going on?!_

 _The old lady next to him widened her eyes. "That girl?! She… She was the one who killed my son?! Why… Why is she with the prince?!"_

 _People begin to crowd around us. Natsu looks back at me and then at the crowd. I can feel tension building up in my lungs. It is hard to breathe._

"Lucy?" Natsu says. I can hear his shaky breathes. "This isn't true… right?"

I can feel my shoulders tense up. The crowd around us seems to get larger and larger. "N-Natsu…"

"Lucy, they're wrong, right?" he says with a weak smile. "You didn't kill one of my people, did you?"

I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. I want to scream and tell him that it was self-defense, but all this pressure from the crowd is getting me. I can't move. I'm frozen.

 _Mom… Dad… I'm scared._

"See! She isn't saying anything!" I hear someone from the crowd shout. "She's guilty!"

Natsu doesn't say anything. He just looks down at the ground, eyes widened. His warm hands gradually become cold fists. I begin to tremble in fear.

I just lost his trust.

My legs feel like lead.

"Get her!" I hear a man shout.

I spin my head around. Suddenly, a whole mob of people begins to run toward me in all directions. My heart starts pounding. I can feel adrenaline run through me. I have to run.

A huge man is leading the mob. He reminds me of Elfman back when we were trainees, recklessly charging at me. I stand in the same stance as I did as a child. The man looks about two-hundred pounds. He probably runs about eight miles per hour, which means that he'll probably get to me in four more seconds.

Two seconds.

I dodged to the left as he tried to punch me from the right. Quickly, I raise my hands up and use the person in front of me as a boost to jump over her. I push on her shoulders, making her lean forward, and step on her back, launching forward.

I step on many people's backs as I run. And… I cry.

Why am I crying? This isn't my country anyway. I don't belong here.

I just don't belong.

As I get to the end, my tears are blinding me. I lose my balance and fall on the ground, right outside the crowd. My face slams into the sand. Quickly, I get up, wipe the salty tears out of my eyes, and sprint.

I make a right and hide behind a large wagon. The crowd chasing me earlier runs past me. I make a soft sigh in relief but my tears won't stop falling. Why? A soldier like me shouldn't be crying. I'm not supposed to have emotions like this. Stop it, Lucy. Stop.

Out of curiosity, I slowly crawl back to the scene. Natsu is still standing where I left him. He seems too shocked to move. He is trembling. I want to run back to him, hug him, hold his hand. But I can't. Those eyes he used to look at me when he heard about my murder of his guard… They were full of hatred.

I want to tell him that it was out of self-defense. The guard was going to kill me. If I didn't murder him first, I would have been the one who died.

But then again, I was the one who invaded in the first place. The guard was only doing his job.

It was me who was wrong.

But where do I go now?

Maybe I should go back to Fiore. I should go home.

I sprint toward the walls that lead to the outside. But then I stop a guard at the entrance. He doesn't seem to open the gate unless I have a license. Crap.

Suddenly, I hear a faint sound of wheels rolling. I look behind me and see a large merchant's cart rolling down the street. Perfect. I can hide behind that.

I step to the side and wait for the man driving the cart to roll past me. When he does, instantly, I jump inside, laying my body down and hiding under his products.

"Hello sir," I hear the guard say in a gruff voice. "May I see your id?"

The merchant brings out his id and then I feel the cart roll through again. I escape the Dragoon Kingdom successfully. Once I am far enough, I quietly jump off and run back to where I left my horse when I first invaded this kingdom.

I jump on my horse and pet her mane. "Sorry for the wait," I whisper.

I make a loud whistle, a signal for my horse to start.

I'm heading home.

I guess that I am homesick. But for my home at Fiore… or my bedroom in Natsu's castle?

What am I saying? Of course, I miss Fiore. I miss my king and queen, Prince Gray, and Levy. I miss all my trainee friends. I should be happy to be home.

But why do I seem to miss Natsu even more?

I just saw him only moments ago, but already I want to be held in his arms again.

I want him to kiss me on the forehead again.

I begin to break into tears again.

" _You will fall in love with me and accept my proposal," Natsu said with confidence. He made a large smirk. "You can count on it."_

You idiot, Natsu.

Idiot…

I already fell for you a long time ago.

But now it's too late for me to accept your marriage proposal.

You don't trust me anymore. I killed one of your people.

I'm a criminal in your country. Do I still have the right to love you?

I'm sorry… but I love you.

\- **End of Chapter 11 -**


	12. Chapter 12

I'm home.

It has been three exhausting days since I left the Dragoon Kingdom. I'm so cold. I am wearing desert clothing. Being in icy cold weather like Fiore is such a big change. It is as if I am not used to it anymore. All my leftover food supplies were given to my horse. I haven't eaten since that festival with… Natsu.

No, I have to forget about him and that place. I need to pretend that I was never there. The Dragneels are the enemy. They are the enemy. They are the enemy… right?

"Lucy!" I hear a familiar voice shout. I look up to see Prince Gray. Immediately, I jump off my house and kneel in front of him.

"Your Highness Prince Gray," I say. I can feel my stomach cramp from kneeling. Ugh, I'm so dizzy and hungry. I can barely keep my mind straight. "I apologize for my past actions and hope that you would find a place in your heart to forgive me-"

Suddenly, I feel his arms wrap around me. His Highness is on the ground, just like me, a mere peasant. "Y-Your Highness!" I exclaim in surprise. I feel something wet trail down my neck. It is his tears. He's… crying?

"Stupid," he says. "You're stupid. A total idiot."

"Huh?"

"How can I not forgive you?" he mumbles in my ear. "You're so important. I can't hate you no matter how I try, even when you turned to the enemy… I still loved you."

 _I still loved you_.

How could I betray Prince Gray? How could I do such a thing to him?

I think about Natsu. After finding out I murdered one of his soldiers, he couldn't even talk to me… But here, even though I went to the enemy's side, Prince Gray is still forgiving me… even though I was so horrible.

Tears begin to flood out of my eyes.

"I'm sorry," I cry, hugging him tightly. "I'm so sorry Your Highness… I'm so sorry."

The dizziness is overwhelming. I'm so hungry…

I can feel my head fall back. I am too fatigued to even kneel anymore.

"Hey! Lucy!" I can hear Prince Gray scream. "Lucy! Lucy!"

Hungry… I could go for some nice hot soup that Mother used to make.

* * *

"Lucy!" a voice shouts cutely. "Lucy, you're such a sleepy head."

I open my eyes. It is Natsu, pouting like a child and poking my cheek. He is lying next to me on the bed. "Wake up!"

"Mm… What do you want Natsu?" I ask, pulling the sheets over my head.

Natsu pulls the covers out of my reach. "All you do is stay in bed," he says angrily. "Come on, it's almost noon already!"

He grabs my hand and pulls me out. Slowly, I stand up with a yawn.

"Mommy!"

Huh? I hear a voice below me.

"Daddy!"

Natsu looks down at the ground. "What is it?"

Wait, what? Is he talking to the ground?

"Mommy is finally up!" the ground exclaims.

What the hell? I look down at the ground and my eyes widen. It is a little boy with pink hair. He looks almost exactly like Natsu, just the tiny toddler version with brown eyes… like mine?

"Mommy, can we go out for lunch?" the kid asks. "Come on! Let's go to the market!"

"What?" I say. _Mommy_? Is this kid calling me his mother? What is going on here?

"Come on kid," Natsu says, pulling the child up into his arms. He carries him on his back. "Daddy will bring you to the market!"

" _Daddy? Mommy?_ " I say. "What is going on?"

Natsu looks at me as if I were stupid. He laughs. "Did you hit your head or something?" he smirks. "We got to take care of our kid, Lucy! Hurry up! We got to get breakfast."

Huh? My mouth drops. **KID?!**

Natsu and I have a kid? Does that mean… he and I… Wait, what? Why do I not remember this? What was I even doing before this? I am so confused. We have a child? Are we married or something?

Natsu grabs my hand and drags me outside his castle along with our child. Once we get out, I can see the marketplace. Is there a festival going on here?

As we walk pass the people, they bow down to us.

"Good afternoon Your Highness!" I hear them say. "Queen Lucy Dragneel!"

Lucy Dragneel? What in the world? I can feel my face burn up.

Natsu laughs and pulls my cheek. "Haha, when will you get used to having my last name?" He pats my head, messing up my hair. " _Lucy Dragneel,_ " he adds with a teasing tone of voice.

Huh? "S-Stop it!" I say, slapping his hand off my head. "What kind of joke is this?"

Natsu raises an eyebrow. "Joke? What are you talking about?"

"Mommy," the kid whines. "Let's eat. I'm hungry."

"Ok, ok," I say. "Mommy will buy you something."

Suddenly, I pause. What did I just say?! I just admitted that I was the kid's mother? What am I doing? I look back at the child again. He really does look like a combination of Natsu and me. My eyes and Natsu's hair… Wow, did we really have a child together?

" _Hey!"_ suddenly I hear someone shout.

I turn around to see a man pointing at me. His eyes glare at me in anger.

" _It's that girl!"_ the man shouts, creating a scene. " _I swear! The girl who murdered my friend when he was on duty with me! I saw her that day on the castle walls! She killed him!"_

A crowd of people gathers around us. Why does this scene seem to be so familiar? My heart beats quickly in fear. I can feel a lump in my throat. I want to throw up. I'm feeling sick.

Natsu's bangs cover his face, making a shadow. I can see the ends of his eyes, glaring at me. "You… you're an impostor," he mumbles.

"W-What?" I say. I lose strength in my legs and fall to the ground. My body shivers in fright. I'm scared. I'm scared. Natsu has never been like this before.

Natsu turns his back away from me. "Don't appear before me ever again. Your presence makes me sick," he says in a disgusted voice. He takes the kid's hand and begins to walk away.

"W-Wait…" I say, reaching my hand out. "Natsu! Natsu!" I scream over and over again. "Don't leave me! Natsu, don't leave me!"

" _ **Lucy!"**_

"Don't leave me…"

" _ **Lucy! Wake up!"**_

* * *

"Don't leave me!" I scream, sticking my hand out as if I were trying to grab something.

"Lucy!" a blue-hair girl shouts. "You're having a nightmare!"

"Huh?" I look around me. Am I in a hospital? I look at the girl. It is my friend Levy, a trainee nurse.

"Geez," Levy sighs. She pours me a bowl of porridge and sets it on my lap. "You must be starving. You should eat."

I nod. My stomach is growling. What was I just dreaming about anyway? I don't really remember. All I can remember is Natsu walking away… leaving me.

"So!" Levy says, suddenly sitting on my bed. She leans on me with a smirk on her face. "Who is this Natsu?"

Immediately, my face turns red. My hand lets go of the spoon and porridge splashes a bit on my blanket. "W-What are you talking about?"

"Oh gosh, Lucy," Levy says. "You're such a mess. The whole time when you were sleeping, you kept saying _Natsu! Natsu!_ "

What? Oh my god. Blood keeps rushing to my face in embarrassment. I cover the redness with my hands. What was I even dreaming about to keep saying his name so many times? I cough and cross my arms.

"It's nothing," I say. "Geez, Levy. He's just a friend."

"Did something happen at your job?" she asks as if she read my mind. "Is Natsu by chance… the prince Natsu? Or maybe someone with the same name?"

I bite my lip. Why does Levy have to know me so well? My tears begin to build up in my eyes. My vision is getting blurry from all this salty water. I can feel my nose running as well.

Levy runs to grab me a handkerchief. She dabs my eyes. "Lucy? What's wrong…?"

"Levy…" I cry. "I fell in love. I fell in love with someone I really shouldn't have."

I begin to tell her what happened during the past few days from the first to the last. I didn't mean to tell her everything, but it all just slipped out of my mouth. Of course, I leave out the parts with the demons of Zeref and how I'm a guardian. She'll never believe me if I start talking about that.

"Levy, I miss him," I say. "I love him. But now he sees me as a traitor. I'm a wanted criminal at his country."

Levy sighs and puts her arm around my shoulders. "So what," she says.

"Huh?"

She looks at me as if it were obvious. "So what if you're a wanted criminal. He proposed to you, right?" she says. "You're practically his fiancee. To hell with the people, if they heard your side of the story, they would understand. If you didn't kill that man at the wall, you yourself would have died. It was obviously self-defense."

"Yeah… I guess," I say with a shrug. "But he was only doing his job Levy. He was to kill any intruders."

"You were doing your job too!" Levy argues back. "You were supposed to assassinate the prince!"

"Yeah but-"

"Lucy, have more confidence in your decisions." Levy pats my back. "If you didn't kill that man, would you have fallen in love with Prince Natsu? Would you even be talking to _me_ right now?"

I shake my head. Levy is right, but I know that I am also in the wrong. When I killed that man, I didn't care about his life at all. I didn't even stop to think whether he had a family. Every time I remember that scene in the festival and see the face of his mother, that old lady… I want to cry. How could I be so heartless? He had a family, and I ruined it for him. I know how it feels to lose family more than anyone, yet… I ruined someone else's family.

"Levy, why aren't you upset?" I ask.

"Hm?"

"I fell in love with the enemy's prince," I say. "Isn't that the worst? The Dragoon Kingdom is Fiore's enemy. We have been enemies for ages."

"Well, if Lucy fell for him, he must be a good person, right?" Levy replies.

"Huh?" I blink a few times. Did I hear her right?

Levy grabs my bowl to pour me more porridge. "The Lucy I know would never fall for a bad person," she says with a smile.

I suddenly hear a knock on the door. "Come in," I say.

The door opens and I see Prince Gray, King Silver, and Queen Ur walk in. Huh? What is it that they want? What is their whole family doing here?

I gulp.

\- **End of Chapter 12 -**


	13. Chapter 13

Seeing the Fullbuster royal family walk in, Levy politely bows and leaves the room. I begin to shake in curiosity and fear. Why are they here? I wish Levy could have stayed with me.

"Lucy," Prince Gray says. He walks over to me, touching my forehead. "Are you feeling better?"

I nod, but I keep looking over at the king and queen. I didn't do my job correctly… What am I going to do? Are they mad? What if I get punished? At least, Prince Gray isn't too mad. Suddenly, I remember those words he said to me before I collapsed from fatigue.

" _ **You're so important. I can't hate you no matter how hard I try, even when you turned to the enemy… I still loved you."**_

Sometimes I wonder why I even fell in love with Natsu and not Prince Gray. His Highness treats me so well. He has taken care of me since I lost my parents. Yet, I still fell for another guy who simply made me fall in love within a few days.

"Knight Lucy Heartfilia," King Silver says. He takes a step towards me. I gulp. Every movement that he makes just increases my fear. I'm scared. I'm so scared. I quickly do an awkward bow on my bed.

"His Highness King Silver!" I exclaim. "I apologize for my failed attempt to assassinate Prince Natsu Dragneel of the Dragoon Kingdom!"

I close my eyes tightly. I can hear his heavy footsteps get closer. Prince Gray holds my hand tightly as if to tell me that I would be alright.

Oddly, instead of a hit, I feel a warm hand rest on my head, patting it. I slowly open my eyes and look up. The king is smiling gently at me, even though I had betrayed their kingdom.

"Do not worry, Lucy," he says. "Gray has told me about how the security was too tight for you to get through. Next time we will help you train for the circumstances better."

Huh? That was totally not what happened. I look over at Prince Gray. He gives me that look. I have known him for so long that we do not even need words to communicate. Just eye contact tells me that he saved me again. This time, he helped me by lying to his own parents. I feel a lump in my throat from guilt. How could I allow His Highness to always protect me like this? I am such a failure as a knight.

"Thank you, King Silver," I say. I bow my head down. "I will definitely be able to do my job properly next time."

"Actually," Queen Ur says, stepping into the room. "My husband and I were thinking about something else."

"A different job?" I ask in confusion.

The queen shakes her head. Then she grins. "Well, my husband and I do want to retire soon. We have been ruling for so long. I think it is about time we stop and let the youngsters take our place."

My eyes widen. "Are you saying that His Highness Prince Gray will become King?"

King Silver nods. "But I believe that every king will need a wife."

"So we were thinking about who would be most suitable for our son and the country," Queen Ur says. "And we couldn't think of anyone but you Lucy."

Huh? Did I hear her wrong?

I look over at Prince Gray. He looks shocked as well. It seems that both of us had no idea that this was coming.

"Wait, Mother, Father," Prince Gray says. "You never told me anything about retirement! Why are you deciding this so soon?"

The king casually shrugs. "Well, it is about time for us to stop. Most rulers in our country traditionally stop ruling at our age."

"We don't even know Lucy's feelings!" Prince Gray argues. "What if she has another significant other? Just because I am the prince of Fiore, doesn't mean that she would agree to marry me no matter what."

I am amazed at Prince Gray's statement. He is thinking about my feelings for Natsu… even though he has feelings for me. He wants to put my happiness first. I almost want to cry. Why is he always so kind to a traitor like me?

"Huh?" the king says. "You two weren't already a couple?"

"What?" Prince Gray and I say in unison.

"Oh my," Queen Ur says. "Well, we know of our son's obvious feelings. So Lucy, would you consider our son as a husband?"

Immediately, all eyes stare at me. I gulp. What do I say? What about my feelings for Natsu?

Then again… if I were married to Prince Gray, I could be happy forever. His Highness never fails to make me smile. I feel the most comfortable around him, unlike Natsu. Whenever I am with Natsu, I am always nervous and on the edge. My heart always beats like crazy and I can not calm down.

And it's not like Natsu even wants me to be even close to him anymore…

Maybe I should just stop this. Stop these feelings. Stop this love.

I need to look at reality.

I need to do what my country wants.

I can't be selfish and only think for myself anymore.

I look at Prince Gray straight in the eye and take a deep breath.

"Yes," I say. "I will marry His Highness Prince Gray."

\- **End of Chapter 13 -**


	14. Chapter 14

A month has passed since I have accepted to marry Prince Gray and become the Queen of my homeland. Prince Gray has been worried about me, knowing that my feelings for him were not mutual. But a month has passed. I think my feelings now have cleared up and I can finally start seeing Prince Gray as my husband.

I should be happy. I can be the leader of my country Fiore. I'll be rich and prosperous.

… But why do I still have this heavy feeling?

"Mistress?" my maid asks. "Are you ready?"

I nod.

I walk over to her, passing a mirror. I see myself in an elegant white gown, carrying blue flowers. Blue is supposed to symbolize our country's gem, a sapphire. My blond hair is wrapped into a neat bun with beautiful accessories.

Wow… I actually didn't look like a commoner anymore. I looked high class, like His Highness.

That red ruby choker that Natsu gave me is hidden under a lace choker. I can't bear to cut it off. Part of me must still be attached to... that time.

Huh? I see a tear run down my face. Why am I crying? I'm getting married! In Fiore, it is every girl's dream to marry Prince Gray. He is handsome, smart, good-looking, and tall. And he has everyone's desired dark raven hair. So why am I still like this?

No, I must be crying in happiness. Yes, I am excited. I am not sad at all. My feelings for Natsu… are completely gone now.

"Mistress?" my maid asks.

"I'm coming," I reply. I grab the twelve golden keys that Sting gave me and slip it into my pocket. My time in the Dragoon Kingdom feels like a dream. Magic and everything…

I walk out of my room and see the long hallway to the outside of the castle. I can hear crowds of people shout and cheer. They must be citizens looking forward to seeing their prince get married and become King.

I take a deep breath as my maid bows to me. And I walk down the hall. Once I take a step outside, the cheers get louder. A blue carpet is laid down on the stone ground. I walk on it and can see Prince Gray standing on the other side. He is wearing a blue cape over his white shirt and pants.

My legs feel heavier and heavier every step I take. Do I really want this? But even if I don't, I can't back out anyway. I have to do this for my people.

I stand across Prince Gray and he takes my hand with a smile.

I'll be happier this way… right?

I see the priest talking, but I can't hear a word he is saying. Suddenly, Prince Gray turns to me. I am guessing that it is time to say our vows that we rehearsed many times.

"I, Gray Fullbuster, take you, Lucy Heartfilia, for my lawful wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do us part," Prince Gray says.

Ah, it is my turn.

I open my mouth. I've memorized my vow, but somehow, no words come out. I can feel the anxiety of the crowd building in the air. I try to force myself to talk.

"I-I," I manage to cough out. "Lucy Heartfilia, take you, Gray Fullbuster…" I choke on my words again. _To be my husband_. Why are those four words so hard to say? I can feel my eyes tearing up. The lump in my throat isn't helping. I don't want this. I don't want this. But I can't say no.

Suddenly, there is a huge explosion. Everyone's eyes widen as I turn around. Explosions keep erupting from random places. People are running, screaming, and shouting maniacally. Prince Gray holds my hand tightly.

"What the hell…?" he mutters.

I look around. These explosions are too familiar.

I feel the golden keys in my pocket shake. I still don't know what these things do, but the shaking makes my belief even stronger. These explosions aren't normal.

I look over at Prince Gray. I need to figure out someway to get his hand off me so I can search for the source of the explosions.

I try to shake his hand off. "Prince Gray," I say. "Please let me go. I have to go help."

"Are you crazy?" he asks. "Let the soldiers deal with it! You're not a knight anymore Lucy. You're the Queen of Fiore. You can't go out there."

"Your Highness, I don't recall finishing my vow," I say. "Right now, I am only a mere commoner and knight."

Prince Gray slowly lets go of my hand. Then he turns around with his back facing towards me. "I only have one command."

"Yes?"

He turns his head. His eyes are watery as if he were trying his hardest not to cry. "Just come back alive, okay?"

I nod and run off toward the explosions. My dress is in the way, so I rip the ends and kick off my heels. I rip off the accessories off my head, allowing my hair to fall back naturally. I don't have time to be trying to keep this thing in one piece.

I keep seeing dead soldiers on the ground. It is a gruesome sight, but I don't have time to grieve or cry. I have to keep going. They didn't die in vain.

I finally get to the frontlines. The soldiers' eyes widen when they see me.

"My Queen!" one of them shouts. "What are you doing here? You must go to safety!"

"I'm a knight too," I say. "I can't just run and leave my comrades behind."

"My Queen…" the soldier says in awe. Then he turns back to work. "The explosions are coming from random places. We don't know where any of them is coming from or who is causing this. We are suspecting that they are traps secretly made by someone to ruin the wedding."

I nod. "I'll help investigate."

I walk off and make sure that I am not stepping on any traps if there really were any. But for some reason, I can't spot anything.

I see another explosion erupt and hear another roar of screams. More people dead.

But for a split second, I saw a yellow magic circle underneath it.

Like I thought, this isn't a normal attack. I have a feeling that I know who it is.

I go into an empty field. He'll probably appear if I am alone.

I see a magic circle appear right next to me. Immediately, I dodge and as expected another explosion erupts.

"What do you want Jackal?" I ask loudly.

Immediately, Jackal appears before me with a puff of smoke. He is the demon of Zeref. Last time I saw him was at the Dragoon Kingdom. It was because of him I found out about my magic and how I was a demigod guardian, daughter of Crius.

"As expected of that dragon boy's guardian," Jackal says with a smirk. "You noticed me right away."

I roll my eyes. "Who else would have explosion magic?" I grab my gold keys tightly. "Why are you here? I'm not your target. Natsu is."

"Well, obviously Natsu would be using his suppressor to control your strength, and I wanted to see how strong you really were," he replied.

"Suppressor?" I ask.

"You didn't know?" Jackal says. "Anyone in the dragon family can suppress the strength of a guardian. Haven't you ever noticed? It's like that just in case a guardian ever betrays the dragons."

Huh? But now that I think about it, it all makes sense. That time I tried to assassinate Natsu, I couldn't even fight him. It was strange. He overpowered me easily even though I was the strongest knight in Fiore. It wasn't ordinary, and with Jackal's explanation, I understand.

But for some reason, I don't think that this is the only reason why this demon of Zeref is here. His priority should be to kill the dragon family completely. So why would he be here for such a mere reason?

"That's not the only reason, is it?" I say. "Don't lie."

Jackal laughs. "Quite sharp, aren't you?" he says. "Look, let's come to an agreement."

"Agreement?"

"You don't want this marriage, do you?" he asks, pointing to my dress.

My eyes widen. How did he know?

"You want to see Natsu again," Jackal says. "Isn't that right?"

I am speechless. I can't deny what he is saying. It is everything I thought but would deny to myself. I don't want to believe it, but it's true.

"Come with me," he says. "If I capture you, Natsu will come to you for sure. Knowing him, he'd put you before the world's safety."

Come with him? Wait, is he saying that he wants to put me as hostage? And he is claiming that Natsu would come for me, risking his life. That is impossible. First, if Natsu ever died, this world would fall back to darkness. He wouldn't throw his life like that for literally the world, not even for me.

Also… Natsu hates me. I betrayed him. I'm just a wanted criminal at his country.

"Well?" Jackal says. "How about it?"

I hold my keys tightly. "Don't play dumb with me," I say. "I know of your intentions to assassinate Natsu. I won't allow you to use me as hostage."

"Hm?" Jackal laughs. "Ah, I was hoping that you were that stupid." He brings his left hand up and a magic circle appears at his fist. "Well, I guess I'll have to use force."

I'll have him think that Natsu would come if I were hostage. That way, if I do lose this fight, he'll still be safe. But I have no intention of losing. I am going to fight. I will kill this goddamn demon. I can't allow him to resurrect the Dark Lord Zeref.

"I was hoping you'd say that," I say, holding my golden keys up.

I don't have any weapons on me. I only have these keys that I don't know how to use. But I'll figure it out somehow. Sting said that it would come naturally to me. I have to believe in those words.

I take a deep breath.

 **\- Chapter 14 -**


	15. Chapter 15

Jackal charges toward me. I dodge to the right, rolling onto the ground. So much for the keys. How do these things even work?

I sense a magic circle forming under my body. Quickly, I swing my legs forward, jumping out of the way. As expected, a blast explodes from the area I was just at. Holy crap. My heart beats faster in fear. What is this? There are booby traps everywhere.

"You're better than I thought," Jackal says. "Guardian of the Dragons, show me your true power." He licks his lips. I feel a shiver go down my spine.

Geez. I would totally show off my so-called "power" if I knew how to use it.

I rip a random gold key off the holder and stick it out in front of me.

"Oh?" Jackal says. "A key? Perhaps are you the daughter of Crius?"

How did he know? Maybe he is familiar with this magic. He is immortal after all and these keys were passed down to me. He must have seen them before. I look at the key more carefully. The design on it is green with an arrow. It's familiar to me.

Jackal throws another punch at me, but I jump to the side. Immediately, an explosion follows. I gulp. If even one of those punches touches me, I can not imagine the pain. I take deeper breaths to calm myself. I need to figure out how to use this key.

Jackal grabs my hair, pulling it as if he were going to drag me around. "Hey," he whispers in my ear. "Are you joking around with me?" He puts his hand on my stomach and blasts an explosion. Pain spreads throughout my body. I scream from the shock.

Ugh. I want to throw up. My breaths are getting faster and faster. I don't know if it's because I am afraid or because of the pain. Maybe it's both.

"Show me your power," Jackal hisses. "Daughter of Crius."

Tears run down my eyes. I just want to die right now.

Jackal gives me another punch. I just keep screaming. Strength in my knees just disappear. I fall, but Jackal forces me to stand back up. He keeps punching me over and over again, giving me some kicks while he was at it.

I don't even have my weapons. I might as well give up. A mere human like me can't beat a demon, even if I am the strongest knight of Fiore.

Suddenly, I remember Natsu. His smile. His laugh. If I were to fail, would those smiles disappear? I can't just allow Jackal to beat me like this. I won't allow a demon of Zeref to beat me.

That's right. I'm not a normal human. I'm a guardian. I have the blood of a god. I can't do allow Jackal to just beat me up. I need to fight. I need to stand.

"Are all women this weak?" he snickers.

I see Jackal about to punch me again. But instead of waiting for the impact, I grab his fist, allowing the explosion to erupt in my hand.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jackal asks. "Are you stupid-"

I glare at him and grab his fist even tighter. "I'll make you regret saying that," I hiss. I tilt my head a bit to get a better look at his sorry face. "I'll make you regret saying that women were weak."

I use his fist and throw him on the ground. He lands with dust flying everywhere, covering me.

I take the same key with the green arrow and point it straight. I then close my eyes. Please. Please, Crius. If I truly have your blood, show me how to use your power.

Immediately, a bright golden magic circle shines at my feet. It is almost blinding. The key glows. What is going on?

I'm supposed to chant something. I feel it. But what words? I have a feeling that this circle isn't the same as Natsu or Jackal's. It is powerful.

A summoning circle?

"Open," I say, making up words as I go. I see the arrow. Maybe the spirit is an archer? "Gate of the Archer!"

The circle gets even brighter. I am on the right track. But what do I say next?

I am the daughter of Crius, so I must control the twelve zodiacs. I'm pretty sure there was a spirit who was an archer. But… what was his name again?

"Sagittarius!" I exclaim, remembering suddenly.

The light blinds me. I feel something gathering in my body. I gasp when I open my eyes.

I am wearing a green dress and thigh-high brown boots. On my shoulder, I have a tattoo of the green arrow from before. My hair is in a ponytail and I am holding a large bow in my hands.

"W-What is this?" I stammer.

 _I am Sagittarius,_ I hear someone say. It seems like the voice is speaking in my head, so no one else can hear. _I lend you my powers._

And then the voice is gone.

I stare at my bow. This is no ordinary bow. I feel it. There's some kind of magic.

I look at my back. I have no arrows. What is the use of a bow without arrows? Crap.

I put my hand where the arrow is supposed to be and to my surprise, an arrow appears in my hand. Magic. Incredible. This way, I would never run out of arrows.

The dust subsides. I see Jackal standing before me. He smirks.

"Finally," he says. "You reveal your power, daughter of Crius."

"Bring it on," I yell with a grin, adrenaline running through my body. "Demon of Zeref."

 **\- End of Chapter 15 -**

Yay for fast updates! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Next one will be coming very soon~!

Also, thank you for 200 followers! I will continue to try my best to write this story and make it even better!

- _ **Metallic Snow**_


	16. Chapter 16

I stretch my arrow back. The strings tighten as I aim at Jackal.

I open my hand, releasing the arrow. Immediately, the arrows triple, then quadruple. My eyes widen. I have never seen anything like this before. My own magic scares me.

Jackal jumps out of the way, skillfully dodging each arrow. He then moves one arm back with his hand open. He rapidly brings it in front of him, closing his fist, swiping his hand in my direction.

A spiral of flames explode, making me jump back. He almost hit me. I touch my hair. It was burned off a bit by the explosion.

I narrow my eyes. This demon must have a weak spot. But where? If I even accidentally touch him, another explosion would erupt. I have to be careful.

Suddenly, I get an idea. It is crazy but it might just work.

Jackal brings both of his hands back and then swings them forward. Wind blows around him, encasing him in a cylinder shape. Fire erupts from his hands. He then brings his hands together, creating an orb of fire.

I bring another arrow back. I know these arrows aren't just ordinary now. They have the power of the stars inside. But would the light of the stars be able to destroy dark magic?

Jackal swings both of his arms. Immediately, the wind leaves him, blowing the sphere of fire at me. I pull my arrow back and let go, allowing it to meet the explosion head-on.

The fire and arrow meet and instead of getting hit by the explosion, the arrow pierces through, going to Jackal. His eyes widen in surprise as the arrow pierces his arm. He winces in pain but then grins. Huh? Did that arrow not hurt him at all?

He rips the arrow out of his flesh effortlessly and immediately, the wound I created disappears. No wonder why he is immortal. But I smirk. I see Jackal raising an eyebrow, wondering why I am smiling.

I snap my fingers. "Celestial eruption," I mutter under my breath.

Immediately, the arrow slips out of his hands, shooting into the sky.

"Sagittarius," I say. "Appear before me."

The arrow begins to dissolve into the air. Jackal watches in terror and confusion. I am guessing that none of the demigods that he has seen has done this before.

Then in the arrow's place, a man in a horse suit appears in the sky. He carries a bow and arrows on his back. He aims his arrow downward as he falls.

"Shoot him down," I command.

Instantly, the man opens up his hand, releasing his grip. The arrows begin to duplicate and glow gold, raining before Jackal like meteors.

"Shit," Jackal swears. He tries to run but the arrows are everywhere.

Arrows pierce Jackal's flesh, so much that there is no way he can heal himself in time.

"Argh," he screams. He tries to stand with all the arrows in his chest, but he falls back down. His blood leaks out, but his blood is black. Eerie, but it is to be expected. He isn't human. There isn't any way his blood could have been red.

"Damn you, guardians," he says. Slowly, he pulls out the arrows one by one, but I walk up to him, kicking the arrows back in.

"Argh!" he shouts.

"Don't even try healing yourself," I say, kicking him even more.

He glares at me, angrily. "Damn you," he says. "Bitch."

Suddenly, the shadows of everything surrounding us start to attract towards him. I step back. I have an odd feeling of fear.

His black blood begins to sink deep holes into the ground. Mountains of darkness cloud over Jackal. What is going on?

I feel dizzy. Ugh, I have no time to try to fight against this. I am too fatigued. Something about these clouds of darkness are weakening my lungs. I can't breathe.

The darkness subsides and in its place is Jackal… But he is bigger. I barely recognize him anymore. He doesn't look even close to human anymore. He has a larger frame and his build is almost frightening. He has the face of a wolf, ready to pounce on his prey. His hands were replaced with claws.

Jackal roars.

My heart beats fast.

So this is a real demon.

I grab my other golden keys. I don't think arrows will be effective against him anymore. I search through my keys, but I don't know anything about any of them. I guess I'll just have to try them and hope for the best.

I take a random key. It has an orange symbol on it, a circle with a tail coming out of it. If I can recall correctly, this is the key for Leo, the Lion.

"Open!" I say. "Gate of the Lion!" I slam the key down on the ground. Bright light blinds the whole are. "Leo!"

Again, I feel the light gather towards me, changing my clothing and weapons.

 _I am Leo_ , I hear a voice inside me say. _I lend you my Regulus power of light._

The light disappears and now I am wearing a frilly black dress, almost like a gown but shorter to be more proper for battle. There is a slit on my left leg and a gold sash around my waist. Below my collar bone is a new tattoo: the orange symbol from the key.

But I am not holding any weapons. What is this?

Jackal roars at me again. He then charges at me, about to give me a punch.

By natural instinct, I use my arm to block, grabbing his arm and then kicking him in the stomach. There is a circle of light whenever I kick or block, increasing my strength and protecting me from the explosions. I look at my hands. There are rings on them. Are they causing this?

Wait a second. I begin to get an idea of what this lion zodiac does. He must accel in melee combat. I grin at this. As a professional assassin, my melee combat skills are always at its prime. This may become my favorite key.

Jackal tries to kick me. I flip one-eighty degrees, sticking my foot up to kick him in the jaw. He roars in pain as I jump back. Damn. My physical strength is amazing right now.

He slashes me with his sharp claws. I barely have time to react. I try to flip backward but he manages to scratch my stomach. Ouch, that felt horrible, but it wasn't as bad as the other attacks.

Huh? For some reason, I am feeling oddly sleepy.

I look down at my stomach again and to my horror, I see a purple substance in my wound. Holy crap. What is this?

I look at Jackal. He grins. "Got you," he says.

The purple substance seems to be sweeping into my body. I crouch down from the burning pain. Is this some kind of poison?

"Within about five minutes, you will lose consciousness," Jackal says. "Don't worry. Like I said, I don't want to kill you. I just want you as my hostage."

Five minutes? Damn him. He had this trick up his sleeve. This cheat.

"Alright then," I say, using all my strength to stand back up. "That just means that I only have five minutes to beat you. That should be sufficient enough." I pant heavily. I can barely move my body. It feels so heavy, as if it weren't mine.

Jackal glares at me. "How… How are you still able to stand?"

"Because," I say, trying to catch my breath. "I have something to protect!"

"Damn you!" Jackal shouts, charging at me.

I go into my pocket, trying to take out the keys, but to my horror, they were gone. I look back at Jackal. In his hand were all my golden keys. He had stolen them. Crap. What would I use now?

Crius. Please. Show me a sign. I need to protect Natsu. No, I _must_ protect him.

Suddenly, I remember something Sting chanted to me, proving that I was a mage.

" _ **Survey the Heavens, Open the Heavens…**_ " **Sting began to say. Instantly, his eyes turned from dark blue to bright yellow. A magic circle formed in his eyes. "** _ **All the stars, far and wide. Show me thy appearance with thy shine.**_ "

 **Suddenly, I felt a flash of light emit from my eyes. "** _ **I am the ruler of the stars,**_ " **my mouth said on its own. "** _ **Aspect become complete.**_ " **What was I saying? I could not control myself. My mouth just moved on its own, as if it were instinct.**

 **Soon the light died and everything became normal again, as if nothing ever happened. What was that? What were those words that I was saying?**

" **No… No… No," Prince Natsu mutters. "Why?"**

" **I knew it," Sting said. "You have the blood of Crius."**

Maybe if I chanted the same thing, something would happen. It is a crazy thought, but I don't have a choice. I don't have much time. I was going to lose my consciousness in five minutes and Jackal is charging toward me.

"Survey the Heavens," I recite quickly, as quiet as I can. "Open the Heavens. All the stars, far and wide… show me thy appearance with such shine. Oh, Tetrabiblos…" Immediately, like Sting had, a golden magic circle appears under my feet. "I am the ruler of the stars. Aspect become complete!"

I can feel it. Magic is surging inside me. My eyes turn bright yellow and magic circles appears in them. Then, just like instinct, my mouth begins to move, saying things that I can not even control.

"Open thy malevolent gate!" I scream. "Oh, 88 Stars of the heaven… Shine!"

Immediately after I recite the incantation, I could see all the constellations of the sky come down as spheres, absorbing into my body. What was happening? But my own body is beginning to feel like a weapon. All of this power surging in me is about to release. I can't handle or control it.

No, I have to take control. I force all the power to stay in me as I aim at Jackal. If this power was going to go out of control, I might as well aim it all at this beast.

" _Urano…_ " I mumble. " _Metria_!"

Bright light comes from everywhere and then comes together into a beam of light, going straight toward Jackal.

"Gagh!" Jackal cries.

I open my eyes, and I am back to normal in my ripped up wedding dress. I collapse on the ground from the pain. I can barely stay awake. I am so dizzy. This poison is taking me harder than I expected.

I look over at Jackal. He is down and disappearing into black dust. Did I just destroy him? I make a soft smile in relief. Will Natsu and his descendants be safe from now on?

Suddenly, I feel an earthquake. What is going on?

Wait a second, these aren't earthquakes. These are… footsteps.

I begin to tremble in fear. Don't tell me… Jackal wasn't the only demon of Zeref?

I see human-like feet step next to me. He is wearing black dress shoes. I can't look up to see who he is. All I can sense is a similar presence to Jackal.

"I'm surprised," the demon says. His voice is deep but it is a familiar voice. My eyes widen. No. No. It can't be him. _He_ can't be a demon of Zeref. No, this has to be a lie. But this voice... I would never mess it up for someone else. "Some guardian actually managed to kill an immortal being of Zeref, especially Jackal."

He uses his foot to flip my face over to get a better look at me, giving me a view of who he is. And to my horror, it is _him_. No one has darker raven black hair than him. He is still wearing his cape over his suit. My eyes begin to tear up. Out of all people who had to be my enemy… why?

I look at his arm. It is completely black. I don't remember his arm being like this. My breaths are getting faster and faster. Please. Tell me this is a lie.

"Lucy Heartfilia," he says, tilting his head. "Let me tell you something before you lose consciousness."

The fact that he knew my name confirmed it. It is him.

"I always had to hide my strength from you, but I am the strongest demon of Zeref," he laughs. "And…" He bends over and puts his hand on my cheek. He begins to caress it. "I was the one who murdered your and Prince Natsu's parents almost ten years ago."

I begin to cry. My vision is blurry. Everything begins to go black. I can feel him take my body, carrying it over his shoulder like a sack. I don't have any strength to fight back. My strength is depleting fast because of the poison.

"Don't get me wrong," he says. "I still love you, Lucy. We can serve Zeref together. How about it?"

"Why…" I say. "Why… Prince Gray…?"

My world turns black.

\- **End of Chapter 16 -**

Hi guys! Sorry to leave you with this kind of cliff-hanger! Hope you guys liked this chapter~

If you want to reread the part where Sting chants the words that reveal Lucy's power as a guardian, please refer to chapter six!

\- _**Metallic Snow**_


	17. Chapter 17

Mm… Where… am I?

I am lying on something cold and hard. I open my eyes. I am in a jail cell. What is this? I gulp nervously. I have been kidnapped… by my own friend. Prince Gray… How? I still can not put my head around it.

Prince Gray is the strongest demon of Zeref?

How?

He was always the one behind the desk. I had never seen him work-out. He said that he hated exercise… so how?

I thought I was close to him, yet he hid something like this so well.

I try to move my arms to find that metal chains are tied around my wrists and ankles, making my body into a cross shape, my knees on the cold floor. Whenever I try to pull out, the chains burn my skin. I breathe heavily. It hurts. I want to cry, but I can not show any weaknesses. Stay strong, Lucy. Stay strong.

"You're awake?" I hear that familiar voice say.

I look up. Prince Gray. He is still wearing the same clothes from our wedding day. I look at myself. My wedding dress is ripped up and dirty, covered in my own blood.

"Don't worry," Prince Gray says. He walks over to the cell and grabs one of the bars. He squats down to look at me in the eye. "I won't kill you, Lucy. You're just here as the hostage." He smirks. "Once we catch that stupid dragon prince, we can rule the world together with Zeref. We can see everyone lose their humanity."

He sticks his arm through the bars, touching my face. He brings my chin up gently. "I'm sorry that I have to put you in such a position, Lucy. But we need to make it look like I am going to murder you. So when dragon-boy comes, act really paranoid and scared, okay? We can definitely catch him."

I don't say anything. Prince Gray lets go of my face and walks away.

Natsu is not going to come. I did not tell Prince Gray, so that is probably why he is assuming that Natsu still… loves me and would come for me, even if he might die and have the world's humanity lost because of that.

Well, at least, Natsu is still safe for now, but Prince Gray is most likely going to go after him if he doesn't come for me.

I look at my chains. I need to get Prince Gray before he finds out that Natsu isn't coming. I can't allow him to fight Natsu. I need to protect Natsu. I am his guardian after all. Protecting him is my job. I can not allow Prince Gray to kill Natsu. I have to save the world as well. Humanity can not be lost. If humans lost their humanity, everyone would be slaughtering each other.

I try to pull out of my chains again, but I only get more burns from the metal. I can sense it. This metal is also preventing me from using magic. I begin to feel haggard. Having my arms like this hurts. Being on my knees for this long is painful. But I need to find a way out.

But what will I do after?

Will I kill Prince Gray?

I cringe at the thought. Even though he is a demon of Zeref, I can not see him as evil. I still see him as the innocent, pale and slim prince who was always my ally and friend. How can I kill such a man?

But if I don't murder Prince Gray, Natsu may be at a risk of death. And if Natsu dies, the world will be doomed.

Who do I choose?

I can not go with the demons. I am the daughter of a god. That is not even possible for a demigod to support a Dark Lord.

Maybe I can convince Prince Gray to choose the world over Zeref.

No, that is not possible. He is a demon, a creation of Zeref. He would never go against his creator.

So that only leaves me with one option…

To escape and murder Prince Gray before he reaches Natsu.

It is weird. I am choosing Natsu over Prince Gray, despite knowing Prince Gray for a longer period of time. But I can not continue to allow Prince Gray to keep doing this evil.

But still… inside, I still do not want to fight him. He is my childhood friend. I love him like family.

I stare at the stone ground. What do I do?

Suddenly, I hear soft footsteps walking to my area. My eyes widen. These steps do not sound like Prince Gray. They are lighter. The person seems to be sprinting.

"Lucy!" I hear a voice cry quietly.

Huh?

I tense up. That voice. I must be imagining it.

But I look up anyway.

My eyes must be playing tricks on me.

But I see a man with pink hair running towards me. His mouth is wide open, panting for more air. His eyes are full of tears when we make eye contact.

I can not help but cry in happiness and frustration.

Happy that he is here.

Frustrated because now he is within Prince Gray's presence and I may not be able to protect him.

How did he even find out I was here?

He runs over to my cell and grabs the bars with both hands. He burns them, melting them. Then he walks inside the prison, kneeling in front of me. He puts his hand on my cheek. It is warm and calming. I tilt my head onto his rough hand. I missed his touch.

"Lucy," he cries. "Lucy."

"N-Natsu," I cough out. Tears run through my eyes faster and faster.

Immediately, he slams his lips on mine and without thinking, I lean into it. Our faces are so close that I can feel his tears on my face. His lips are dry and chapped, but to me, they are perfect, as if they were meant to be mine.

Natsu came for me.

\- **End of Chapter 17 -**

Finally, Natsu is back! Hope you guys enjoyed that and are looking forward to the next chapter!

\- _**Metallic Snow**_


	18. Chapter 18

"I'm going to get you out," Natsu says between pants. He goes behind me and grabs onto the chains near my ankles and wrists. He melts the metal far enough so that I do not get burned; however, I still have the remainder chains around me.

"Natsu," I cry. "You have to run. You can't stay here." Once my hands and ankles are free, I touch Natsu's face, softly holding onto his cheek.

"I don't care," he replies. "I'm going to get you out of here, even if it means losing the world."

He tries to hug me but I back away. "No," I say. "You have to go. You can't be selfish like this, Natsu."

"Lucy, I-"

"Prince Gray won't kill me, Natsu," I say. "It's a trap. He's just using me as bait to get you here. I won't die. I'll be okay."

"You'll be okay? Don't lie. Is being tied with chains and being locked in a jail cell okay?" Natsu says. "And why is Prince Gray in this conversation?"

I push Natsu away from me. "Prince Gray… He's the strongest demon of Zeref."

"What?"

"He's strong, Natsu," I say. "I'll fight him. You run now."

"I'm not going anywhere," Natsu says. "I'm not leaving you here."

"Stop!" I say. "If you die, humanity is doomed. And I'm your guardian, Natsu. I'm supposed to protect you, not the other way around."

"Is it wrong to want to protect the one I love?" Natsu asks. "I don't give a shit about guardians or whatever. I just want to be with you."

"I'm your country's most wanted criminal, Natsu!" I exclaim. "Please-"

"I don't care!" he screams. Our voices are getting louder as our anxiety and fear increases. "I love you, Lucy. Even if my country can't accept you, I can't help it. I questioned myself so many times. You have no idea how long I have thought about this." He grabs my arms, shaking me and looking at me with desperation. "Let's run away, Lucy. Far from everyone. Away from Fiore. Away from the Dragoon Kingdom. Somewhere where it is okay to be together. I'll abandon the whole damn country if I have to. As long as I am with you, I am happy. I don't care about anything else."

Tears keep rushing out of my eyes. Why does he have to be like this? I had decided to protect him, but with him saying such things, how can I reject him? I hug him tightly. It feels like if I let go, Natsu will disappear out of my life again. I begin to tell him everything that happened after we parted. My feelings of loneliness. Prince Gray and my wedding that never finished. My fight with Jackal. Everything.

"How did you even find out I was here?" I ask.

"I found a weird note on my bed saying that you were captured and locked in Tartarus," he says. "And that you were to be slaughtered. It was obvious that it was a trap, especially since Tartarus was the home of the demons of Zeref. But it involved you, so I had to come."

"Tartarus?" I ask. Is that where we are now? If I am not mistaken, Tartarus is… hell. We are in hell. How would a dragon and demigod escape the depths of this place? How far are we from Earth, the real world? How did Natsu even get here? I have so many questions, but there is no time for me to ask. First, we must get out of here.

"Come on," Natsu says. "Let's go home. I'll get you better clothes. Everything will be okay, as long as we are together."

I nod. _Home_ … For us, we could not go back to our countries, so where was home? Maybe for us, _home_ will just be anywhere where we are together. Anywhere we can freely be in love. Slowly, I stand. Natsu helps me up. The poison from Jackal is still making me dizzy, but I should be okay by the time we escape.

Natsu bends down. "I'll carry you," he says. "It'll be faster this way. You look like you can barely walk."

I get on his back and then he begins to run. I have no idea where we are going. This place is practically a maze. But the warmth from Natsu's back comforts me. Even in hell, because he is with me, I feel safe.

"Thank you Natsu," I whisper. "For saving me."

I know he hears me, but he is too tired to reply. His breaths are becoming shorter and faster. But he smiles when I thank him, as if coming all the way to Tartarus just to hear my thanks was worth it.

But, suddenly, Natsu stops abruptly. He squats down, putting me down slowly. I stand next to him.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

He slams his fist in front of him, punching nothing. But immediately, he grabs his fist in pain. I look at him in confusion until I try to walk ahead. Instead of easily going through, I bump into something cold. I touch the cold surface with my hand.

Is this an invisible wall?

When I take my hand off the wall, I see water droplets that have formed on my hand.

"Ice?" I say.

"Someone has blocked the escape route with ice," Natsu says. He lights fire on his hand, bringing it close to the ice wall. "This should do it."

But to our surprise, the ice does not melt. No way.

"Dammit," Natsu says. "Stand back, Lucy."

I take a few steps back.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu shouts with fire erupting out of his mouth. Flames surround the ice, but then soon die down quickly. Our eyes widen. No way. Even with that much fire, the ice still will not melt.

I go up and touch the ice again. I close my eyes to examine it by the aura.

"This isn't just any ordinary ice," I say. "It was done by some kind of magic. Whoever made this is strong, considering that even your flames can't melt this."

Natsu groans, but we have no time to try to get through this ice. He grabs my hand, supporting my poor balance, and we begin to run in the opposite direction, only to crash into another invisible wall.

Another wall of ice.

"Shit!" Natsu shouts.

"It's a trap!" I cry.

"You did a good job, Lucy," I hear a different voice say behind us. "Luring the dragon to this spot."

Natsu and I flip our heads around. I gasp.

"Prince Gray!" I exclaim. "No! Please stop this!"

He begins to walk closer to us. He brings his hand out, facing it toward me.

"Ice Make," he says. "Prison."

Immediately, a large human-sized bird cage made of ice appears above me and then slams down onto the ground, encasing me inside. What the hell is this?! I bang my hands onto the bars. This ice would not break at all. No way. I can sense it. This ice is the exact same as the wall from earlier, which must mean that… Prince Gray is an ice-user.

"Lucy!" Natsu shouts. He runs over to me, trying to melt the ice with his magic.

"You can stop trying, dragon-boy," Prince Gray says. "My ice will not melt that easily. And Lucy can not escape on her own. Anyone encased in my prison can not use magic inside. I have trained for so long to fight you, training my ice to be invulnerable to your flames."

Natsu glares at Prince Gray. "Let Lucy out of there!" he shouts. "She isn't a damn animal, you asshole!"

Prince Gray tilts his head, laughing. "Well, well," he says. "How about this? If you can kill me, my magic will be released. Lucy will be freed. You two can escape. But, if I kill you, Lucy will be mine and Zeref will be released from the life-lock of the dragons."

"Fine," Natsu replies. He screams. Fire immediately appears all over his body. "I'm all fired up!"

"Psh, ignorant bastard," Prince Gray scoffs.

No, no, no. Why did things have to turn out like this? If only I convinced Natsu to run away… Why am I so stupid?

How did I never notice that Prince Gray was a demon?

I was ignorant. I put all my trust in him.

As I think back, I notice that ever since childhood, there were some odd things about Prince Gray. How he knew that my parents died back when we were kids. How he even found out where I lived. How his strength suddenly increased while fighting Natsu in the castle. How he was able to stand against Natsu despite never working-out. How was I so naive?

I look at Prince Gray. He smirks at me. "No worries, Lucy," he says. "This will be over in a second. After that, you'll be mine and we can serve the Dark Lord Zeref forever."

"No," I mutter under my breath. "No…"

"Don't worry," Natsu says. "I'll definitely win." He turns around, facing me with a confident smile. "You just sit back and watch me okay?"

When he says that, I can not help but put all my trust on him. He just has this way of always convincing me.

"I believe in you, Natsu," I say.

Natsu turns back around. He erupts more of his flames on himself. "I know you do," he says, barely audible.

Then he charges toward Prince Gray.

\- **End of Chapter 17** -

Thank you for all your kind reviews from all the past chapters! You have no idea how much encouragement each one gives me! :)

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	19. Chapter 19

Natsu brings his fists together, creating a red magic circle. He then spreads his arms, creating a spiral of fire. A large stream of fire appears on each of his arms as he swings them forward, charging towards Prince Gray.

Calmly, Prince Gray brings his fist forward. "Ice-Make: Shield," he says, creating a large wall of ice in the shape of a flower. His magic is beautiful.

Natsu's fire slams into the shield, unable to melt it. His fire dies out.

"Psh," Prince Gray snickers.

I gulp. I need to get out of this ice prison, but Prince Gray's magic is too strong.

I look back at the two fighting. They continue to parry each other, equally strong. However, Gray does not seem tired at all, exerting little to no strength. Natsu is on his knees, exhausted.

"You," Natsu says. "Do you really love Lucy?"

Prince Gray tilts his head to the right slightly. "Of course," he says. "The likes of you should just back off. Lucy is meant to serve Zeref along with me."

Natsu mockingly laughs. "If you really cared for her, you would care for her opinion," he says. "Let us go."

"Oh?" Prince Gray says. "Are you begging for escape?"

"You wish," Natsu replies. He charges again at Prince Gray, creating sparks on the ground. He engulfs his hands in flames and swings them around, creating a vortex of lightning. Prince Gray tries to block the attack, but the tornado-like attack sweeps him off his feet, pushing him against the ice wall with tremendous force.

"Argh," Prince Gray says. He falls to the ground, grabbing onto his knee for support.

"Are you done now?" Natsu says. "Give up before I kill you."

However, I see a little smirk form on Prince Gray's face. My heart pumps in fear. I have a bad feeling about this.

"Ice Make," he hisses. "Lance." Instantly, numerous arrows form from his ice, going quickly toward Natsu.

Natsu doesn't even have time to run, his eyes are just wide open as the lances gather toward the center his stomach, impaling him right through his body, creating a flower of blood. His eyes begin to flood with salty tears. He grabs the lance that is pierced into his flesh, trying to pull it out. He chokes on his own blood falling to the ground.

"NATSU!" I scream.

He continues to cough out blood. I slam my fists on the ice bars. "Prince Gray!" I scream. "Please let me out! Natsu! Natsu is going to die-"

"Quiet," Prince Gray says, walking over to Natsu. He kneels in front of him, taking his chin and forcing him to look up. "You," he says. "You're all talk aren't you. Fucking dragon."

I begin to cry. No, I can't watch this anymore. This has to be all a dream. Soon I'll wake up and Prince Gray will go back to being that innocent prince… and I'll find that meeting Natsu was all a dream. Please, wake me up from this dream someone.

"Natsu," I cry.

He coughs out blood again. "Shut the hell up, Ice Princess," he manages to choke out.

"Oh?" Prince Gray says. "You still got some talk in you?" He stands up and kicks the bottom of the lance in Natsu's body, impaling him with it even more.

"GAH!" Natsu yells.

"Stop!" I cry. "That's enough Prince Gray! Please!"

"Damn dragon," he says, kicking Natsu over and over again. "Just fucking die."

Never in my life have I heard Prince Gray swear so much. He is no longer that prince I knew. He is no longer my friend. He is my enemy. I can't just watch this anymore. I have to help somehow. But with this prison encasing me, I can't go anywhere.

"You done talking now, Flame-Brain?" Prince Gray mocks.

Natsu looks up and my eyes widen. His eyes are no longer jet black, but pure crimson red. I can see his veins popping out of his arms. A normal human would have already died from all those strikes, but then I was reminded. Natsu isn't human.

He pulls the ice lance out of his body smoothly, allowing the blood to flow out of his body freely. What the hell is he doing? If he does that, he'll lose too much blood and die! Even a dragon like him would not survive from losing that much blood!

A puddle of blood forms underneath him. And little by little, they begin to trickle back up his body, wrapping him in his own blood. What is happening? I have never seen this in my life.

"What are you planning now?" Prince Gray says. "Just give up, dragon."

Suddenly, a flash of red fire blinds everyone in the area. Wind is blowing so heavily that even my skin feels as though it is being cut into a million pieces. I can feel splashes of Natsu's blood going everywhere. What is this magic? It is scary.

"What the hell!" I hear Prince Gray shout.

The wind stops and I look back where Natsu was, but he is gone. Instead in his place is… a red dragon engulfed in flames.

No way.

Is this Natsu's dragon form?

"Eh?" Prince Gray smirks. "Are you finally getting serious?"

Natsu roars loudly, so loud that I can feel the sound waves past me.

Wait a second. Suddenly, I recall something Sting told me back in the Dragoon Kingdom.

" _Here are some rules that you must follow as a guardian, Lucy," he said. "Always remain loyal to your dragon, or else the gods will harm you. And finally… never allow him to go to his dragon form. Make sure he remains in his human form."_

" _Why not?" I ask._

" _Becoming a dragon is basically asking for suicide," Sting replies. "It takes too much magic. His Highness Prince Natsu Dragneel would not be able to handle it."_

No. No. I begin to cry. This can't be.

"Natsu stop!" I shout. "Go back to your human form! Please!"

Natsu doesn't reply.  
"Please!" I scream. "You won't be able to handle it! You… You'll die!"

Natsu turns his head toward me. He looks different, but his eyes are the same jet black color.

 _I will protect you_ , he says.

No, he can't do this! If he dies from becoming a dragon, no matter what we do here, the Dark Lord Zeref will rise!

 _I'll kill Zeref too,_ he says, as if he read my mind. _Trust me Lucy. I'll protect you and together we can escape this place together._

Tears drip from my chin to the ground. You idiot.

\- **End of Chapter 19 -**

Hi guys! Thank you so much for your support on my exam! Thanks to your encouragement, I feel like I did really well! Sorry for the long wait for this chapter! I am again going to be active and updating at least 1 to 2 times a week! Hope you look forward to it!

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	20. Chapter 20

Every step Natsu takes in his dragon form shakes the ground. It feels as though the ceiling will collapse with the mini earthquakes.

Natsu roars at Prince Gray, just the sound waves creating gusts of wind. I feel a shiver go down my spine. Natsu as a dragon… Natsu as a dragon.

 _Becoming a dragon is basically asking for suicide._

What the hell is Natsu thinking? He should have known the consequences yet he still transformed. And… what kind of guardian am I to let him do that? Prince Gray's ice is impenetrable. I pound on the ice bars once more, tears running down my eyes. The poison that Jackal put in me is still making me sluggish. I can barely stay awake.

"Help…" I cry quietly. "I can't just watch this anymore."

Dragon Natsu walks over. He touches the bars with his claws and pounds them hard. He slashes at them several times, yet they still won't break. He opens his mouth full of fire. I gulp. No way. He isn't planning on roasting me along with the cage, is he?

 _Trust me,_ I hear Natsu say. _I won't burn you._

"What are you doing, stupid dragon?" Prince Gray says. "I told you. My ice is invincible. Your measly flames are nothing against it."

But Natsu stomps his foot, creating an at least 8.0 earthquake. Fires flame around me, creating a ring around my body. And like an explosion, they spread out with a loud crash. And to my surprise, the ice prison is blown to pieces. All that remains is water spread across the halls.

I open my hands and light is coming out of it. My magic is back as well.

"Wow…" I say without thinking.

Prince Gray stares at Natsu, speechless. He had never seen anyone break his prison before. But then he smirks. "Okay, maybe you aren't all just talk," he says. "It's been a while since I have gotten serious."

Serious? Wait, this wasn't even Prince Gray's full power?

Suddenly, he begins to take off his shirt. My eyes widen. Why is he stripping?!

But when I see his topless body, I am horrified. It is almost entirely covered in black. I watch the rest of the blackness spread across his body, covering one entire arm and half of his face. I shake in fear. I know for certain now that he isn't human. He is a demon of Zeref.

 _Lucy, I want you to stay back,_ Natsu says.

"What?!" I exclaim. "Are you crazy? I'm going to help you!"

 _No, I can't let you do that,_ he replies.

"Idiot!" I cry. "I'm your guardian! What kind of guardian lets her dragon fight while she just sits back! I have my own pride too!"

"Lucy," Prince Gray says. He extends his arm covered in black to me. "What are you doing? Come back to me."

"N-No," I say, a bit shaky. I look up at him. "I'm sorry Prince Gray. But I can not continue to be with you as you are. I will never side with the Dark Lord Zeref."

"Are you saying I, the one that has always been with you… am your enemy?" he asks.

I make a fist with my hands and take a deep breath. I think about the times Prince Gray was kind to me. But.. he killed my parents. He murdered them along with Natsu's parents. He murdered the other past guardians and Romeo, Natsu's younger brother. Was his kindness a lie? Was it to get a guardian to the dark side?

"I can not see you as an ally with your actions," I state with an emotionless voice. "Because your actions spoke the truth."

Prince Gray glares at me angrily. He stretches his arm out. "Ice Make: Prison!" he exclaims.

I dodge to the right, barely missing the prison that slams onto the ground right next to me.

"You can't trick me with the same move twice," I say. I grab my keys and twirl them around my fingers. I wrap my fingers around my key of choice. "Open!" I swing my arm downward. "Gate of the Water Bearer!" I bring the key forward. "Aquarius!"

Water gathers around me, leaving a crop top with a zig zag design on my chest and a blue skirt.

 _I am Aquarius,_ I hear a voice say in my head. _I lend you my powers._

"We'll work together," I tell Natsu. "I'll support."

Natsu grins. _Let's get out of this together._

I nod back.

Prince Gray grits his teeth. "Lucy, I won't allow this. You will come with me."

"No," I say. "I will be defeating you."

"Ice Devil's Rage!" Prince Gray exclaims, releasing a large beam of cold air and ice from his mouth.

"Water Barrier!" I say, slamming both hands on the ground. Spirals of water erupt from my magic, blocking the attack. But he is so strong that I can barely hold on. Water keeps splashing everywhere.

Natsu roars and fire blasts out of nowhere, rushing toward Prince Gray's direction. Quickly, Prince Gray brings his black hand up, creating as a barrier of ice. Quickly, while he is distracted, I undo my barrier and run behind him.

I immediately put my hand on his back. He turns his head in shock, making eye contact with me. I smirk.

"Shot," I say. Water forms on my hand, giving a sharp hit to his back.

"Ack!" he exclaims. He reaches to grab my neck but I roll to the side. Then I jump to get up, but to my surprise, my legs do not move.

"Huh?" I say. I try to stand up again, but my legs are not responding. They feel numb.

"Ah," Prince Gray walks up to me and places his fingers on my chin, moving my head up. "The poison that Jackal put in you must still be working."

With all my strength, I fight the poison and slap Prince Gray's hand off my face. "Don't touch me with those filthy hands that killed my parents," I say with a glare. Even though it hurts, I force myself to stand. My legs feel as though a billion of needles have pierced them, but I have to move.

Suddenly, Natsu's claws come in between Prince Gray and me, sweeping Prince Gray across the halls. "Get on my back," he says. "Then we can still fight together without you walking."

I nod. I get behind him and pull myself onto his scaly back. I grab another key. "Open. Gate of the Archer! Sagittarius!" And instantly, my clothes turn into the green dress and long brown boots again.

Natsu opens his wings, starting flight. We go up into the air as Prince Gray watches from below.

I bring my bow forward and aim for Prince Gray. "Star shot," I say, releasing my arrow. Quickly, my arrows multiply, exploding as they hit the floor. When the explosion clears, Prince Gray is still standing with an ice shield, barely harmed. Dammit. Is he really invincible?

Suddenly, Prince Gray creates black ice spiraling around him, forming dark angelic wings. Then he jumps up and he is flying. "Ice Devil's Zeroth Destruction Bow!" he exclaims. A bow of ice forms in his hands and a pack of arrows on his back. He pulls back his bow.

"Dodge Natsu!" I cry.

Natsu swerves to the left, making sparks. But the ice arrow follows our trail, piercing Natsu's wing. Then it explodes, creating flowers of ice all over the place.

Natsu groans in pain. He loses balance and begins to fall. Slowly, I see him turn back into his human form, losing his limit to stay as a dragon.

As we freefall, I don't even have time to scream. Natsu grabs me in his arms and turns one-eighty degrees, putting himself on the bottom. And with a crash, we slam into the ground, Natsu's back breaking the cement.

To my surprise, I am unharmed. But then I look at Natsu. Any normal human would die from that kind of fall, but he is slightly still moving. But the ground is covered in splatters of his blood.

"No… No…" I mutter. I tap Natsu's cheek. "Hey, answer me. Natsu! Natsu!"

"Mhm…" Natsu mumbles. He holds my hand that was on his cheek lightly. "I'm here."

"Idiot!" I scream. "Why did you do that? I told you! I'm the one who's supposed to protect you. Why do you keep not listening to me?"

Well, at least he is still alive, but he can not move.

I look up. Prince Gray is still flying in the air. I pick up my bow and aim it at his wings.

"I'll hit you the same way," I say as I release my arrow.

The arrow doubles and instantly crushes Prince Gray's wings. But when he lands, he rolls to soften his fall. But with that height, he is still injured. As he stands, he grasps onto his ribcage. He seems to have broken it.

He opens his hand toward me. "Net," he simply states.

Instantly, a large spider like web appears at my feet. I try to run but the net wraps around me, like a booby trap. I am caught like those wild animals in the forests.

"What the hell?!" I shout. "Prince Gray, let me out immediately!"

He walks up to me with a smirk. "Since when have I had to follow your instructions?" he questions. He then walks up to Natsu. "Zeroth Long Sword," he says. His bow transforms into a blade. I can't breathe. I can already predict what he was going to do.

"No!" I scream. "Stop!"

Prince Gray brings his sword above Natsu's chest, hovering over it. I have to cut through this net. I have to save Natsu.

"Taurus Form," I say. It seems like this net does not block my magic. I take Taurus's ax and slam it into the ice, shattering it.

I begin to run to Natsu's side, but Prince Gray does not hesitate any longer. With an instant, he brings down his sword.

No.

No.

Please no.

Blood splatters everywhere.

I can't even scream or shout. My throat is all dry.

I'm too late.

I go back to my original form and fall beside Natsu.

"Hey," I say softly. "Say something. Please."

"Aha," I hear Prince Gray laugh behind me. "The Dark Lord! He is rising! I feel it!"

A tear runs down Natsu's lifeless eyes. He opens his mouth to speak, but barely any noise comes out. "Lu… cy," he manages to choke out. Blood flows out of his mouth as he speaks.

"Natsu," I cry. My tears land on his cheeks. "Natsu, you'll be okay. I promise. I'll protect you. We'll leave this place together. We'll go home."

"Your tears… are so warm," he says weakly.

"We'll go home!" I say. "Don't give up. Don't… Please don't go away."

He puts his hand on my cheek and tries to smile. His hand is not warm like it used to. It is almost ice cold. But I grasp onto his hand, trying to transfer my warmth onto him.

"Lucy…" he says.

"What is it?" I say in a comforting tone.

"I… I love you."

"I love you too," I say. "I love you the most."

Natsu makes his goofy grin again. "Let's… meet… again."

And his hand falls.

His eyes go lifeless.

"Natsu?" I say. I hold onto his shoulders, moving them back and forth. "Get ahold of yourself!" I exclaim. "Natsu!"

Is this how Sting felt when he failed to protect Romeo Dragneel? Failure. Disappointment… Loneliness. I can't lose Natsu. I just can't. How am I supposed to live?

"The Dark Lord," Prince Gray says with a smile. "He has risen! We did it, Lucy!"

"No… No…," I mutter. I look down at Natsu and he is disappearing into red glitter-like light. "No!" I scream. "I told you that we would go home together! You can't leave me here! Let's… go home. Please."

But to my surprise, the red light forms into a sphere. I cup my hands around it. It floats onto my hand warmly. "Nat...su…?" I say.

Suddenly, the red light slams into my chest, absorbing itself into my body. I feel a warm sensation in me.

 _Lucy… This is my magic,_ I hear Natsu distantly say. _Use it well._

Instantly, I feel as though I am on fire. It is so hot that I can barely handle this strong magic. But it is comforting. Even though Natsu is now gone, I feel like he is still with me. I wonder if he did this so I could stay sane.

I realize that I have no time to mourn for Natsu's death. I need to fight for humanity now that Zeref has risen. I need to save the world first.

I look around me. It has become almost pitch black. Prince Gray walks over to the exit of Tartarus. I look over curiously and see horror.

He is looking at an orb, showing Fiore and the Dragoon Kingdom. Humanity is losing their minds. I see chaos. Everyone is beginning to kill each other, fighting randomly in the streets. Every person has turned insane, murdering their family, children, and loved ones.

"It is done," Prince Gray states with a smile.

I feel a cold wind on my back. I turn around to see a man in black robes walk toward us. He is pale like a ghost. I can feel his presence even from here. His aura is dark, intimidating, and dangerous. He is a dark magic user.

Immediately, Prince Gray gets on one knee and bows. "My Lord," he says. "Zeref."

 **\- End of Chapter 20 -**

Thanks for reading!

~ _ **Metallic Snow**_


	21. Chapter 21

Zeref…? My eyes stare at the man in fear. No, this can't be. I touch my heart, where Natsu transferred his magic on me. From then I knew.

The whole world's fate is on me.

I take a step back, timid. I can feel his presence even from here. He is dangerous, strong… deadly.

Zeref walks over to Prince Gray and smirks. "You released me?" he says in a deep voice.

"Yes, my Lord," he says. "All your demons failed but me."

"Oh," Zeref says. He rummages through his cloak and takes out a book. The cover is made of thick brown leather and pages look yellow, old. He skims through it and smiles. "This book contains your life, correct Gray?"

Prince Gray nods. "Yes, Zeref. I am a demon created by your books. My life relies on the quality of your works."

"Oh?" Zeref says. He smirks as he closes the book loudly. I see a spark in his hands. Then instantly, the book burns.

Prince Gray stares in horror. "My Lord-"

"I have no use for you anymore."

Immediately, Prince Gray's body lights in flames. To an ice demon, that is instant death. His body turns into paper as it burns.

"Prince Gray…" I mutter. I run over to his body, but by the time I am there, he is gone, as if his body was never there in the first place. All that is left is ashes.

Zeref sighs. "Now, I need to get rid of you."

I stand over Prince Gray's ashes, trying to hold back tears. Why did things have to turn out like this? Even though he was a demon, the memories I had of him, even though they were lies, they felt real. I am still attached to the fact that I thought he was human. I was betting on that low chance that he could have become good instead of evil. But now Zeref has crushed that possibility.

"Damn you…" I say angrily. "Damn you!"

"Ah, shut up. You're so annoying," Zeref says with a yawn. He cracks his neck. He puts his hand out. "I'll shut that mouth of yours."

Black mist appears at his hand. He brings it to his mouth and blows. Immediately, the mists fly toward me at lightning speed.

Quickly, I flip to the left, dodging the attack. I can sense this magic. One touch of it and I will die. I can feel it. I need to be careful.

It is difficult for me to move quickly. The sleep poison that Jackal gave me is still affecting me. But I need to fight and save this world before the insanity spreads to other countries.

"Because of you..." I say. "Natsu always lived in fear. Because of you, Prince Gray had no choice but to serve you. I-" I look up directly into Zeref's dark eyes. "I will avenge them!"

Zeref sighs. "You are really annoying." He swipes both of his arms in a circular motion, surrounding himself in a dark aura. Then he puts his hands in fists, releasing an explosion toward me.

Unable to run in time, I have to defend myself. "Law!" I exclaim instinctively. A bright light envelopes me, breaking Zeref's black mist. He covers his eyes.

"This magic…" he mutters. "The gods must have chosen you."

My light dies down once I sense that the mist has all vanished. I pant in fatigue. Blocking one of these attacks is like torture to my small frame.

I look up to see Zeref glaring at me.

"You are no normal guardian," he says. "I can't let my guard down."

I have no idea what he means by saying that I am not normal, but I do know that I have to fight him. Just the thought of fighting this kind of man… or Dark Lord, scares me. But I must be brave. I am the strongest knight in Fiore. I have to be confident.

"Stars of the zodiac," I say. A yellow magic circle appears at my feet. It spins, flashing gold light in the halls. "Guide me. Lend me your strength. Give me the speed of light." I feel the light gather at my feet, absorbing into my body. Instantly, I feel as light as a feather, as if the poison was never put into me.

"Open! Gate of the Lion!" I shout. "Leo!" My outfit changes to a red dress with a slit so I can move around freely. Immediately, I run, so fast that I can barely control myself. I look like a meteor as I run in circles around Zeref.

I jump forward, kicking him in the side. Then punching him right in the face. He tries to hit me back but I am too fast for him. I dodge quickly, then bringing my foot to his face, making him fly into the wall, breaking the cement.

I stop to catch my breath. Throwing those kicks tired me out a bit. Zeref is on the ground, a dark aura is above him. He glares at me, angrily. "You…" he says. "You are the guardian the celestial gods have blessed."

What is he talking about?

"Long ago, the gods locked me up with the life lock of the dragons," he says as if he read my mind. "And they told me that the day I escaped, they would choose a warrior, a demigod, to kill me." But then he tilts his head to the side, giving me an eerie look. A shiver goes down my spine, making me have a bad feeling. "But that's impossible. A half-god… killing me? Even the gods couldn't kill me. How could a mere demigod do so?"

Zeref begins to laugh as dark mist gather around him. "Death… awaits," he mutters. Waves of darkness are gathering around him, rotating around into a sphere. Slowly, it gets bigger and bigger.

It is getting closer to me. I try to block it with magic but it is too strong. It instantly engulfs me. I feel my energy dragging out of me forcibly. "Argh," I mumble.

After a few seconds, the dark waves die down. I fall to my knees. Just what kind of magic was that?

"I have set a curse on you," Zeref says. "As time passes, you will lose strength. In about a minutes, you will lose all strength in your legs. Then your arms, neck, and all other body parts, until the curses reaches your brain and heart. As a result, you will die within ten minutes."

Ten minutes? _Ten minutes?_ I shudder at the thought.

I'm… going to die?

Quickly, I clear my head. No, I can not begin to panic. That is what Zeref is aiming for. I absolutely can not panic.

I take a deep breath. "Ten minutes?" I laugh. "That's fine."

"Huh?"

"That just means…" I give a mischievous look and a smirk. "I just have to kill you in ten minutes, right?"

\- **End of Chapter 21 -**

Two more chapters guys! We're almost there!

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	22. Chapter 22

"Nonsense," Zeref argues back. "It is impossible for a mere half-god like you to defeat me in ten minutes."

I grit my teeth. I already wasted a minute talking. The curse has already spread into my legs, making me lose all strength there. I can not stand. My arms are beginning to feel numb. I understand his tactic now. He is trying to stall time.

He walks up close to me. "By now, you must not have the strength the stand, do you?" he says in a mocking tone. "What happened to your confidence, huh? Were you all talk-"

I slam my hands on the ground, pushing my motionless legs up into a handstand like motion. Using my momentum, I flip, kicking Zeref straight in the face.

He glares at me angrily, charging his fist with dark magic, ready to hit me. "Why you-"

He tries to punch me but I duck, dodging it.

I slip a key out of my pocket. "Virgo Form." I take a maid-like form with a decorated short rod in my hand.

 _I am the maid, Virgo. I lend you the powers of Fleuve d'etoiles._

My instinct tells me that the rod is what holds the magic. I swing it forward and a jet of flowing water is created. As I twist my hand to control it, the jet of water follows, like a whip. Immediately, instinctively I understand how to use it.

I swirl the whip around, making the water go into spirals around Zeref. The water takes material form as it traps him in a tight hold. I then pull on it, making myself swing across the room, bringing me in close proximity. This helps me move without the use of my legs.

Again, I use my momentum from the whip to swing around Zeref. "Leo," I say once I get a close enough distance. Immediately, I change into combat form, kicking him hard in the neck with my lifeless legs.

"Ah!" Zeref exclaims.

I fall to the ground right after the kick. Because I am immobile, I can not roll to soften my fall. I can hear my bone crack on my rib cage and arm from the impact on the cement floor. I wince in pain. Crap.

Zeref slowly gets back up, a bit beaten. He walks over to me. I try to swing my whip at him but I realize that about two minutes have passed which meant… I lost the strength in my arms.

He walks over and kicks me hard where I just broke my ribs. I scream in pain, but I can not move at all. What do I do?

"B-Barrier!" I scream. Light shines, blinding Zeref. He steps back as a wall of light covers me. This should buy me at least thirty seconds of time.

I move my hips, trying to get the keys to fall out of my pocket. Once I hear the clink of my keys, I rotate myself so that my mouth can grab them. It is not how I would rather summon my spirits, but I do not have a choice.

I look through my keys. Who would be the best choice?

A certain key catches my eye. A voice inside tells me to use it.

I open my mouth, biting on the key. I move my head down. "Open!" I try my best to say as I grit my teeth. "Gate of the Twins! Gemini!"

A magic circle appears before me. It rotates, accelerating faster and faster. I am blinded by my own magic. But once I open my eyes, I am shocked.

A person stands before me.

And that person is… me.

"What?" I mutter to myself.

"I am Gemini!" the person says in my voice. "I lend you the power of twins."

Ah, I understand now. _Move your leg._ I thought.

Instantly, Gemini's leg kicks up. I smirk. This is perfect.

 _Take my keys._

Gemini walks up and picks up my keys.

Suddenly, I hear a shatter. Zeref has broken through my barrier.

 _I have analyzed your movements in the past,_ Gemini says into my head. _Without your commands, I believe I can operate in the exact same way you wish._

Wow, that is amazing.

When the light disappears, Zeref's eyes widen when he sees another copy of me. "Told you," I say. "You can't beat me." I give eye contact to Gemini, nodding to her. "Go."

Without hesitation, Gemini charges toward Zeref. She summons Libra, trying to use gravity to keep him from moving.

While they fight, I can barely breathe. How many minutes has it been? Judging by my condition, I probably only have two more minutes to fight him.

Two more minutes before I die…

No, Lucy. You have no time to be afraid.

I move my body by rolling my hips toward the wall. Gemini defends me from Zeref, buying me time. I force myself to sit up. Now I can see them fighting clearly, but the curse is affecting my vision as well.

One minute and thirty seconds left.

"Gods… Crius," I mutter. I can barely move my mouth. Even my lips are losing strength. "Please, if I really am the chosen one, show me the way."

Suddenly, I feel my eyes glow. What is going on? I look down on my arm and this odd tattoo has spread on it. Then the tattoo floats off my arm and hovers above my eyes. It forms words above me in a language that I have never seen before. But somehow, I understand it. Perhaps it is because I am a guardian, my instincts are playing a part. But these words… are they for a spell?

One minute left.

"Oh spell of light," I read off the black floating letters. Instantly, sparks of light fire off me. I can feel my instincts overtake me as the black letters absorb into my body. I didn't even finish reading it but my mouth moves on its own.

"That spell…" Zeref says. "Why you-"

"Your opponent is me!" Gemini says, using Libra's magic to control his movements.

"Radiant upon this world," I say. "Reject the presence of the foes that go against this universe. Oh, light of the sun, moon, and stars. Lend me your magic…"

Zeref finally rips through Gemini, making her return to the Celestial Spirit World. But he is too late. I have almost finished my spell.

Twenty seconds left.

"Gather! River of light that guides the fairies!" I scream. All the light that I have gathered shines vertically like a column. It is so bright that even Zeref can not directly look at it. Instead, just the blindness of it makes him cower onto the ground.

Ten seconds left.

"Shine! To destroy the fangs of evil!" I shout. Then the light gathers back down on me. I then open my eyes, looking straight at Zeref in the eye. "FAIRY GLITTER!"

All the light blasts out of me. I can feel my life force leave me as I cast the spell.

"Gah!" Zeref exclaims.

My eyelids are losing strength. I can not even see Zeref die. I can feel his presence, however, disappear. I make a soft smile, knowing he is dead.

Five seconds left.

My heart beat is beginning to slow. I can barely think straight.

Zero.

My heart stops.

My whole body is numb.

My eyesight goes completely black.

At least… with this small life of mine, I made an impact in this world.

And with this death, I can reunite with my parents. I have always been waiting for them after all. After this long wait… more than ten years, I can see them again.

And Natsu…

I'll see him too.

So maybe this death isn't so bad.

Suddenly, I feel myself leaving my body. I stand on the ground and look at myself. My body is slightly see-through. Have I become a ghost?

I look back down at my body. I am almost covered head to toe in blood. I then look back where Zeref once was, but only his cloak lies there. He has disappeared with the light.

I think look straight ahead at the exit of Tartarus. The doors are finally unlocked. But my eyes widen in surprise when I see who is standing in front of the gates. His body is a bit see-through like mine, but he glows like an angel. He is grinning at me with his signature goofy smile. My eyes tear up and I can not help but smile back.

"Natsu," I choke out. I can barely talk because of my sobs.

Natsu opens his arms. "Lucy."

I immediately run into his arms. "Natsu!" I cry. I feel his warmth spread onto me. His arms are wrapped tightly around me. He doesn't need to speak for me to know what is going on.

We both died.

So… how are we still ghosts like this?

"Natsu?" I say. "How are you still here? How am I still here?"

"I don't know," he replies. "When I died, the same thing happened to me. I witnessed your whole battle with Zeref. I could see it clearly, but none of you could see me. In fact, whenever I tried to touch you, my fingers would just go right through you."

 _We, the gods, are giving you another chance in life._ We hear a deep voice say. We look at each other in surprise. What is this?

Suddenly, a man appears before us. He is bright, shining angelically. _I am Crius, father of your blood, Lucy Heartfilia._

"W-What?" I stammer. "Crius." I look around. Natsu is kneeling on one knee, bowing to Crius. Oh my! How rude of me! As fast as I can, I also kneel, bending my back to the god.

 _You may stand, Natsu Dragneel, Lucy Heartfilia._

We stand up, looking at each other in confusion.

 _Both of you saved our universe,_ Crius begins. He sticks his hand forward, showing a holograph of Fiore and the Dragoon Kingdom. The people are looking around, confused about what just happened to them. _You saved the sanity of humanity. So the gods have decided to give the two of you another life as a gift of thanks._

"Another life?" Natsu asks. "What do you mean?"

 _You two will be reborn,_ Crius replies. _We will have you two be reborn around the same time. We don't know where exactly you will be reborn or exactly what year, but if fate allows it, both of you will meet again._

Wait, does that mean Natsu and I can live as normal people? We can date, get married, build a family, and grow old together. Can we be accepted by others? All of this seemed too wonderful. There just had to be a downside to this.

 _But,_ Crius says, as if he read my mind. _Even the gods only have the ability to keep a single person's memories. It is not possible for both of you to keep your memories._

"What… does that mean?" I ask. "What do you mean by keeping memories?"

 _One of you will lose every single one of your memories from your past life,_ he says. _And the other will remember every single part. It is the one's, who has the memories, job to restore the memories of the one who forgot._

I raise my hand. "I will have my memories erased then," I say.

"Lucy!" Natsu shouts.

"Losing my memories sounds scary," I say. "But I believe in you, Natsu. I believe that you can help me remember all the times we spent together. All the moments that we treasured in this life. So… I'm not afraid."

Natsu gulps, but then he nods confidently. "Okay. I promise you, Lucy. I'll find you in this large world, no matter where you are. I'll look for you daily and when I find you, I'll do my best to recover your memories."

I smile at him. "Thank you, Natsu."

"No problem," he says, sticking his tongue out.

 _So are you ready?_ Crius says.

We both nod.

Crius steps toward us. He places his large hands on the top of our heads and closes his eyes.

I feel wind gather at my feet. My ghost-like body is beginning to disappear.

I turn and look at Natsu. To my surprise, he is also looking at me. He gives me his grin.

"I promise!" he says, trying to shout over the loud wind. "I'll find you!"

"I promise!" I shout back. "That I'll wait for you!"

He makes a soft smile at me. "I love you."

"I love you too."

And with that, we both disappear.

\- **End of Chapter 22 -**

We are almost done! The last chapter is coming soon! Hope you guys look forward to it!

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	23. Chapter 23

_**Several centuries later...**_

 _Ring._

 _Ring!_

 _RING!_

"Ugh…" I groan. I grab my phone to stop my alarm and stare at the screen. My eyes widen.

Seven o'clock.

"Crap!" I scream. I jump out of bed, running to the bathroom. Today is my first day of school at Fairy High as a junior. Fairy High, located in Fiore, is this boarding school that I am transferring into. In the past I used to go to this other high school, but my parents told me that I should experience being away from home.

Well, great because I am already late on my first day.

I run out of the dorm once I am in my uniform and head for the school building. I have five more minutes before homeroom starts.

I run into my teacher. "Good morning Mr. Makarov!" I exclaim.

Mr. Makarov looks at me. "Ah," he says. "You must be the new transfer student."

I nod my head. "Y-Yes," I say, panting. "My name is Lucy Heartfilia, Mr. Makarov."

He nods. "Alright, wait out here. Come in when I tell you to, okay?" he says.

"Okay."

Mr. Makarov walks into the class. I hear loud chatter inside. "Quiet down class!" Mr. Makarov shouts.

As he gets ready for the start of class, I quickly fix my hair. I don't want to look messy on my first day.

"Come in!" I hear him shout.

I take a deep breath and open the sliding door. I can feel the stares of my new classmates. My heart thumps loudly as I take my first steps inside the classroom. Then I turn to face the people.

"H-Hi," I say. "I'm Lucy Heartfilia. N-Nice to meet you."

"Alright Lucy," Mr. Makarov says. "Let's put you next to Juvia. Juvia, would you raise your hand?"

A girl with blue hair raises her hand. I walk over to her and sit beside her. I sit next to the window.

"Hey," the girl named Juvia says. "Nice to meet you. Hope we get along!"

I smile. She seems nice. "Thanks!" I say. "I hope so too!"

I sit in class for the rest of the morning. Instead of the students moving to classes, the teachers move, which is convenient. I listen to the teachers lectures

The bell rings and everyone gets out of their seats. It is time for lunch.

I get out of my seat awkwardly. I do not have any friends yet so I really hope I do not have to hide in the bathroom for the first few days. Now that I think about it, where is the cafeteria even? I gulp. Great. I'm already lost.

"Hey!" I hear a familiar voice shout. "Lucy!"

I turn around. It is the blue-haired girl from earlier. I think her name was Juvia.

Juvia runs up to me. "Do you want to sit with me and my friends for lunch?" she asks. "We love having new people over all the time!"

Wow. She really is a nice person.

"Sure," I say. "Thank you so much!"

"No problem!" she exclaims. "I was a transfer student myself last year, so I know the struggles of the first few days of school."

Somehow, I have a feeling that she and I would get along well.

"Hey, let me get your number," she says. "In case you get lost here. This school is pretty big."

"Thanks so much!" I exclaim. We take out our phones and exchange numbers.

She takes my hand and leads me to her lunch group in the cafeteria. "Guys!" she exclaims. "This is Lucy!"

I look at her friends. They greet me with a smile.

"I'm Mirajane!" the girl with long white hair says. "But you can call me Mira! I'm a junior here, so the same age as you."

"I'm Erza," the red-haired girl says. "I'm the dorm head of the girls dorm so you may see me often. I'm a senior."

"I'm Rogue," the guy with black hair says. "I'm a senior."

I try to remember their names: Mirajane, Erza, and Rogue. They all look pretty friendly, but there is this one pink-haired guy who is fast asleep wearing red headphones. Amazing. How can someone even sleep in such a loud area?

Rogue nudges the pink-headed boy. "Hey! Wake up!" he says. "Introduce yourself."

He snores.

"I-It's okay!" I say. "He's probably just tired right?"

Rogue laughs. "Yeah, he's always like this. Every night he's constantly going out and coming back late at night, so he never gets enough sleep. He seems to always be searching for something."

"Searching for something?" I ask.

Erza laughs. "Don't mind him," she says. "He's just crazy. It's amazing how he even keeps up with his grades."

I stare at the pink guy. I can't see his face because he is covering it with his arms, but judging by how all the girls are glancing at him as they walk past, I am guessing that he is quite popular.

I sit with their group. They ask me about my hobbies and are very kind. Even though I am shy, they adjust to me and quickly, I already feel comfortable with them. It is almost the end of lunch, however, and the pink guy is still fast asleep.

"I'm worried about him," Mirajane says. "Didn't he collapse during basketball practice the other day, Rogue?"

Rogue nods. "I keep telling him not to go out so late at night, but he keeps saying that he must find a certain person _._ "

"A certain person?" I say.

"Yeah," Juvia says with a sigh. "But how is it possible? I mean, one person out of the billions of people on Earth. Is he crazy?"

"Wow," I say. "Whoever he or she is… must be really important to him."

They all nod sadly.

Rogue grabs the pink boy's shoulder, shaking him. "Hey! Natsu!" he says angrily. "Come on, lunch is going to end soon and you're not going to introduce yourself to the new kid?"

Oh, I guess his name is Natsu.

Natsu yawns, slowly sitting back up. He takes off his headphones off his ears and rests them around his neck. He stretches his arms. I notice that he is actually quite built. His skin is tan. I can see why he is so popular with girls. Even though he is yawning with his eyes closed, I can tell that he has one of those pretty boy faces.

Natsu finally opens his eyes. "What time is it?" he says with a tired tone.

"Time for you to introduce yourself to the new transfer!" Erza scolds. "Now if you actually slept on time instead of running off every night, you wouldn't be sleeping during lunch every day!"

"Okay, okay," Natsu says, annoyed. "Geez, Erza. You're such a-" He turns to look at me. Our eyes meet. His eyes widen, as if he is in shock. He just sits still, like a statue. I can see his lips shaking, as if he were trying to speak but no words would come out.

Why is he looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?

"Lu…cy?" he says, slowly.

Huh? How did he know my name?

"Y-Yeah," I say with an awkward chuckle. "That's my name! How'd you know?"

"You," he says. "It's you."

"Huh?" I say, confused.

He shakes his head quickly, slapping his own cheeks, as if he just woke up from a trance. "N-No, nothing!" he says quickly. "S-Sorry! I must have sounded like a creep! I just heard about you from some other people in the halls, saying that there was this new student, haha!"

For some reason, he sounds like he is lying, but I decide not to question it.

"Um… I'm Lucy Heartfilia," I say. "Nice to meet you."

"Lucy Heartfilia," he repeats carefully, pronouncing each syllable of my name. "Ah! I'm Natsu Dragneel, a senior."

So he is my upperclassman.

The bell rings. It is time to get back to class.

"Come on, Lucy!" Juvia exclaims. "Mr. Makarov gets in a horrible mood if anyone is late!"

I quickly grab my things and follow Juvia out of the cafeteria. But then I feel someone grab my wrist.

"W-Wait!"

I turn around. It is Natsu.

"If you don't mind, do you want to hang out sometime?" he asks. Suddenly, his face turns beet red. He quickly covers it with his arm in embarrassment. "Uh, I mean like after school. Like um… I can walk you to your dorm! Or we could get a drink together…"

Wow, he is really nice. No wonder why everyone likes him! He is really kind to ask to hang out with someone he just met. People in this school really are nice to transfers.

"Sure," I say. "Thanks so much!"

"No problem…" he says. He is staring at me again without saying a word. I wonder if there really is something on my face. Or maybe he is still half-asleep?

I go into my bag and hand him a can of coffee I bought earlier from the vending machine. "Here," I say. "You seem to be spacing out a lot, so this might wake you up."

He lets go of my wrists and takes the coffee from my hands, our fingers slightly touching. My heart jumps for some reason.

"Hurry up, Lucy!" Juvia shouts. "We'll be late!"

"Okay!" I say, turning to run towards her.

"I'll wait for you after school!" Natsu yells loudly.

I look back at him and nod my head.

Wow, my first day and a friend already asked me to hang out! Maybe I won't be a loner after all!

Juvia and I rush to our seats. We seem to be about two minutes early.

"Hey," Juvia says. "Have you and Natsu met before?"

I look at her, questionably, and shake my head. "This is the first I have ever seen him. Why?"

"Hm," she says. "I don't know, but for some reason, he seemed to recognize you somehow."

"You must be wrong," I say with a smile. "He was probably half-asleep."

"I guess," she says. "Or!" She looks at me with a smirk.

"What's with that smile?" I say with a laugh.

"What if he likes you!" she whispers. "Like, didn't he ask you out after school?"

"No!" I say. "He was probably just saying that because I was the new kid. Like to be nice, you know?"

"Sure, sure," Juvia says, obviously not convinced.

Mr. Makarov comes in. "Okay! Quiet down! We're starting class!"

Instantly, we stay quiet.

"Have fun after school," Juvia says, teasing.

"Stop!" I hiss back.

"Girls back there!" Mr. Makarov says.

"Sorry," we mumble in unison.

The first day of school is finally over. Juvia yawns. "Ah, I thought it would never end."

"Hey, transfer!" I hear someone say. "This guy is looking for you."

I turn to look at the doorway. It is Natsu, waiting for me. I feel my heart beat fast again. What is this?

I quickly grab my backpack and walk over to him.

"Hey," he says. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," I say. "But where are we going?"

"A festival," he replies. "Come on!"

"I've never been to a festival before," I say. "What is it like?"

For some reason, Natsu frowns for a split second, but quickly he covers it with a smile. " _You'll understand once we get there."_

We walk off school grounds. Natsu leads me to a motorcycle.

"That's yours?" I ask.

"Yup," he says. "We're going to ride it there."

"I never rode a motorcycle before. How does it work?" I ask.

Again, Natsu makes a sad look on his face. But then he smiles again. " _Sit behind me. I'll show you."_

 _ **Sit behind me. I'll show you.**_

Huh? Suddenly, my head begins to ache a bit. I close my eyes. Something fuzzy is appearing in my head. I see a desert and a man in front of me with his hand extended to me. We are standing in front of a motorcycle. I can not make out the man's face however.

" _Fes… ti… val?" I say. "What is that?"_

" _Huh?" the man exclaims. "You don't know what a festival is?"_

Festival? I never heard of that word in my life, _I thought._

" _It's like um… a short period of time we celebrate!" the man says, as if reading my mind. "And there are a lot of food stalls, mini games, and people!"  
I look at him, still confused._

" _ **You'll understand when we get there**_ _," he says with a smile, pulling me to the streets._

 _He leads me to this weird looking… thing. It has two wheels and cushioned seat. It kind of looks like a bicycle… but different. He sits on it and motions me to get on._

" _Uh… what is that?" I ask._

" _What is what?" he says._

" _That!" I exclaim, pointing at the weird… thing._

" _Uh… It's a motorcycle," he replies, as if I asked the dumbest question in the world. "Never seen it before?"_

 _I shake my head._

 _The man grins. "_ _ **Sit behind me**_ _," he says. "_ _ **I'll show you**_ _."_

 _I raise an eyebrow. "Uh… doesn't look too safe."_

 _The man rolls his eyes and grabs my arm, pulling me towards him. "Trust me," he says, pouting. "It's fun."_

Suddenly, I open my eyes. What… was that? It was as if I was just put in someone else's body. Maybe I was just daydreaming. How odd.

"Are you okay?" Natsu says. "You seem tired."

"No, no!" I say. I take his hand and sit behind him on the motorcycle.

Natsu turns on the engine. "Hold onto me," he says.

I grab onto his shoulders.

"Idiot!" he laughs. "My waist! Not my shoulders!"

"O-Oh," I say. I'm glad his back is toward me because my face feels really hot. "H-Hold on! There's no way I am going to hold onto your waist!"

Natsu turns his head toward me and sticks out his tongue. "Suit yourself."

Suddenly, the motorcycle begins to move, making me feel a lunge from the bike. By instinct, I quickly wrap my arms around Natsu's waist. We are going so fast that I feel like just the wind will blow me off the motorcycle. And the gusts make me feel so cold, but Natsu's back is really warm. Somehow it calms me.

Huh? Why do I feel like this isn't the first time I rode a motorcycle? It is odd, but the words I exchanged with Natsu… It feels like I said the exact same words before. And it feels like I heard the exact same words he said to me before.

Maybe I am just thinking too much. At this rate, people are going to think I'm crazy.

"We're here," Natsu says. He parks the bike and jumps off. He offers his hand to me, helping me get off the motorcycle.

He continues to hold my hand and guides me into the festival. My eyes widen. Wow, everything here is so colorful. How does he even know of this place? Music is playing in every booth. I can smell food everywhere.

"I always meant to bring you here when I found you," Natsu says, turning to me with a smile.

"Found me…?" I say, confused.

"Ah!" Natsu says. He covers his mouth. "Hey! We can get takoyaki over there! Let's get some?" he asks, changing the subject.

I decide not to confront him about it. Maybe he just ran his mouth. I do that all the time, just saying things that don't make sense.

We walk over to the takoyaki stand. An old lady is managing the shop.

"Oh," she says when she sees us. "It's you again, Natsu. How have you been?"

"Pretty good," he replies. "Can we have an order of takoyaki?"

The old lady looks over at me. "Oh my!" she says. "Why! Is this your girlfriend, Natsu?"

"Ah!" I say. "No, I'm just a friend-"

"Oh my!" the old lady says, ignoring my words. "Congratulations! Let me treat you to takoyaki today, my dears. It's on me, okay?"

"Oh no," Natsu says. "It's fine!"

The old lady refuses to take our money, so we give up and sit on a bench, waiting for our takoyaki to be made. For some reason, all of this feels so familiar. I don't understand why. It feels like I am repeating something in the past, even though this is my first time at a festival.

"The old lady seems to know you," I say.

"Yeah," Natsu replies. "When I was a kid, I used to run away from the dorms all the time and go to her takoyaki stand to eat."

I give a small chuckle. "You must have really hated school."

Natsu shakes his head. "No," he says. He looks at me with warm eyes. My heartbeats begin to accelerate. What is this?

"I was always searching for this girl," he says. "Ever since I could remember, I was always looking for her day and night. I was so obsessed with finding her that I used to even miss class just to keep searching."

Ah… Rogue, Erza, Juvia, and Mirajane were telling me about this. For some reason, I get a little bit irritated when I hear about this girl. Whoever she is, he must really love her.

"I hope you find her soon," I say with a comforting voice.

Natsu laughs a bit. "I already did."

"When?" I blurt out without thinking.

He makes a soft smile and looks at me, as if I am an endearing person to him. "Today."

"Your takoyaki is ready!" the old lady shouts, interrupting me before I could ask any more questions. Quickly, I forget my thoughts at the nice smell of the food. I pick up a toothpick and try a takoyaki. Wow, Fiore definitely has really delicious ones.

"Hey," Natsu says. "Do you know the history of Fiore?"

I shake my head. "No, why?"

Natsu shrugs. "It's nothing. I was just curious."

As Natsu and I eat, I can feel glances from his direction. Why does he keep staring at me? Do I look that weird? Or maybe it is because I am the transfer student. I hear they don't get too many transfers in this town.

After we finish eating, Natsu brings me back to the dorms. When I get inside, I lay on my bed. The first day of school wasn't too bad. Juvia is nice. Erza is cool. Rogue is friendly. And Natsu is…

Suddenly, at the thought of Natsu, my head begins to hurt. Suddenly, an image begins to appear before me.

" _I promise!" I see the same man from earlier, except his body is transparent. "I'll find you!"_

" _I promise!" I shout. "That I'll wait for you!"_

" _I love you."_

" _I love you too."_

My vision goes back into my bedroom. What in the world… was that? My heart thumps loudly. Why am I reacting so strongly to this? I get back up. Maybe I should take a shower. Ever since I got here, I feel like I am turning insane with these visions.

"Ow!" I exclaim. I seem to have bumped into the corner of the desk. A textbook falls and hits the floor. I bend down to pick it up. It is my new history textbook.

Suddenly, I remember Natsu asking me earlier, " _Do you know the history of Fiore?_ "

Curiousity hits me as to why he asked me that question so suddenly. I open the book and look at the contents. According to the contents, Fiore's history begins on page 382. I flip to that page and begin to read. I do not know why it is so interesting to me. But what intrigues me the most is the knight ranking page, with all the top knights listed by year. Apparently, every year at their Knight Academy, they would chose the top student and name him the strongest knight in Fiore.

But when I get to a certain name, my eyes widen. My finger stops at the name, trembling.

 _Lucy Heartfilia X791_

 **\- End of Chapter 23 -**

Hey guys! So after this chapter, I decided to write two more. Chapter 24 will be a continuation of this story. And then a bonus chapter in Natsu's POV back when Lucy and him first met will be after! I hope you guys look forward to it!

Also the flashbacks Lucy is having are all from chapter 10 if any of you want to look back at it!

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	24. Chapter 24

What? This girl… She had the same name as me. I wonder what her life was like. I skim through the history of Fiore until I find the _Lucy Heartfilia_ section. Wow, she must have been an impressive woman to have her own section. Then again, she was the first female to be a knight.

The text read:

 **Lucy Heartfilia,** **born January 3, X775** _ **,**_ **was the first woman to become an official knight during her era. As a child, she lost both parents during the war against the Dragoon Kingdom. Her father, Jude Heartfilia, was a legend. And her mother was the first ranked nurse. However, they were executed by King Igneel Dragneel and Queen Grandeeney Dragneel. Heartfilia refused to allow this to slide, so she begged Prince Gray Fullbuster to allow her into Knight Academy. She wanted to avenge her parents and assassinate the prince of the Dragoon Kingdom, Natsu Dragneel.**

Wait a second. Natsu Dragneel? That is the same name as the pink hair senior. Why are these names so similar? Maybe it is just a coincidence, right? Curious, I bookmarked the Lucy Heartfilia section and flipped to the history of the Dragoon Kingdom. What was the Dragoon Kingdom anyway? It doesn't seem to exist anymore. There was a whole chapter dedicated to the prince Natsu Dragneel. He must have been important. Or maybe his life was interesting.

 **Prince Natsu Dragneel, born September 16, X772, was the last person to have a royal title in the Dragoon Kingdom.**

Then there is boring writing about his childhood. I skim through it until I see a certain name again: _Lucy Heartfilia._

 **Witnesses say that Lucy Heartfilia, assassin from Fiore, was his lover. However, many citizens could not accept that Dragneel had fallen for someone in the enemy kingdom. As a result, he and Heartfilia were rumored to have run away together when both of them disappeared after Heartfilia's arranged marriage with Prince Gray Fullbuster. After Dragneel disappeared, chaos erupted in the kingdom, resulting in the ending of the Dragoon Kingdom.**

Wait, didn't this Lucy Heartfilia come to the Dragoon Kingdom to assassinate Prince Natsu Dragneel? How did she fall in love with him? But something also catches my eye. An arranged marriage with Prince Gray Fullbuster?

Is this some kind of love triangle? Wow, these things existed back in those times too.

I flipped to Fiore's history and looked at the page with Prince Gray Fullbuster's name.

 **Prince Gray Fullbuster, born December 26, X773….**

I skim through the first few paragraphs. They don't seem that interesting. Then I get to his childhood section. According to this, it seems like the knight Lucy Heartfilia and him were close childhood friends.

 **King Silver Fullbuster and Queen Ur Fullbuster arranged a marriage for Prince Gray Fullbuster and Knight Lucy Heartfilia in X792. However, on the day of the wedding, there were explosions. It is unclear who set the bombs, but many assume that it was from Prince Dragneel from the Dragoon Kingdom due to rumors that he was having a forbidden relationship with Knight Heartfilia. Afterward, Heartfilia, Fullbuster, and Dragneel went missing on the same day. No one knows what happened to them to this day.**

 _It wasn't Prince Natsu Dragneel who set the bombs,_ suddenly I think. Wait a second, how do I even know that? I must be crazy. I should take a shower. I need to clear my head as soon as possible.

I quickly get into the shower and twist the handle to get the water flowing. The water rushes onto my head. What was… that? What I read. Somehow, it feels familiar. Somehow… I have this feeling that not everything written in the book is accurate.

I begin to feel dizzy. My head hurts even more when I try to think about it. I fall onto the ground. I try to turn off the water but my head is spinning too much. Every time I try to stand back up, I fall again.

"Hey, Lucy!" I hear someone say outside. It sounds like Juvia. "You in here?"

I open my mouth to speak, but no sound comes out. My head hurts too much.

My eyesight blurs and I can't see a thing.

* * *

I open my eyes and the first thing I see is a white ceiling. It is dark here. Where am I? I sit up and look around me. Am I in a hospital? I hear a soft snore next to me. I look down and see Natsu. He is sitting on a chair next to my bed with his head laid on my sheets. How did I even end up here?

Oh yeah. I was having headaches while taking a shower. Now that I think about it, ever since I have come to this school, I have been having pain there very often.

Without thinking, my hand automatically moves and pats Natsu on the head. Tears form under my eyes. Why am I crying?

"Mhm…" I hear Natsu mumble in his sleep. "Lu… cy… I found you."

 _I found you._ He said something like that earlier when we were walking around in the festival. What did he mean by that?

Wait, didn't Rogue and the others say that Natsu was looking for someone?

Was that someone… me?

No, it can't be. I never met Natsu in my life.

Then, why do I feel like he is so familiar?

Suddenly, I feel something move under my fingertips. It is Natsu. He is awake.

Quickly, I take my hand off his head and try to hide it behind my back. But Natsu grabs my hand before I can. He looks into my eyes.

"You remember?" he asks first thing excitedly. "Lucy, you remember?"

"Huh?" I say. "What are you talking about? Remember?"

"O-Oh," Natsu says. He lets go of my hand. "Nevermind. S-Sorry, I was half-asleep. I'll call the nurse over since you're awake. I'll call Juvia and the others too."

I watch him walk out of the room.

This can't be a coincidence. He said something about _remembering_. Now that I think about it, when I first met Natsu, he did stare at me for quite some time. And even if I am a transfer, no normal person would be already asking me to go to a festival. Also, no one would stay overnight at a hospital for someone he or she just met. Could it really be that the girl he was looking for… was me?

No, maybe he is just a really nice person.

I look over at the desk next to me. Someone had brought my cell phone here. I quickly grab it and call Juvia. Luckily, I got her number earlier.

"Lucy?!" she immediately picks up. "You're awake?!"

"Yeah," I reply. "Hey, could you bring a history textbook here tomorrow? You don't have to come now since it's night."

"A history book?" Juvia questions. "We don't even have a history test anytime soon. But, whatever you say." She laughs. "I'll come right now. Hold on."

"Wait now?" I say, but she already hangs up on me. She must have been really worried about me to come at this time at night.

Natsu comes back, this time with a nurse. She walks over to me while he leaves the room again. She checks up on me and tells me a few things about health and what I should be careful about. It seems that I apparently just collapsed from exhaustion or something, but that day, I wasn't tired. So it is quite odd.

"Also," the nurse says. "You did show symptoms of amnesia."

"Huh?" I say in confusion.

"But, it seems like you know who you are and who your family members are," the nurse says. "So we can rule out that."

Amnesia…

Somehow that word sticks with me.

"You can leave the hospital once it is morning," the nurse says. "For now, you can stay the night."

"Thank you so much," I say.

The nurse begins to walk away but then she turns back with a smile. "You know, you are very lucky to have such a nice boyfriend!"

"Boyfriend?" I ask.

"The boy with the pink hair?" she says. "He has been with you this whole time. He hasn't left the hospital since you have been admitted here."

Natsu? Was he that worried about me?

"How long have I been here?" I ask.

"About two days," the nurse replies. "Anyway, you should get some rest. Goodbye, Ms. Heartfilia."

"Thank you," I say. "Bye."

Natsu walks back in once she leaves. He comes over to me and pats my head. "Hey, are you feeling better-"

I grab his arm. "You," I say. "Do I know you?"

Natsu stares at me, confused.

"Why are you so kind to me?" I ask. "No ordinary person would do things like this. I just met you, but you already brought me to hang out and even stayed at the hospital this whole time for me. Why-"

Someone opens the door, interrupting me. It is Juvia.

Quickly, I let go of Natsu's arm. I pretend to cough and compose myself.

"Hm?" Juvia says in a teasing tone. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No!" I immediately say.

"Anyway," she says. She walks over to me and hugs me tight. "I'm glad that you're okay." She goes into her bag and takes out the textbook I asked her to bring. She hands it to me. "Here's the history book you wanted."

"Thanks," I say, but suddenly, Natsu grabs the book out of my hands.

"Don't read that!" he exclaims.

Juvia and I stare at him.

"I mean, uh," Natsu says, stuttering. "I have a history test tomorrow so I'll be taking this!"

"That's a junior history book," Juvia says bluntly. "You're a senior, so why would you have a test out of that?"

"W-Well…" Natsu says, trying to think of an excuse. "W-We're having a review test on the history we learned last year!"

Why does it sound like he is trying to hide something? But still, those names… Prince Natsu Dragneel and Knight Lucy Heartfilia… I need to research them further. Maybe I can search them up on my phone instead of using that textbook.

Ah… My head… I grasp onto it. It hurts. It hurts. I can feel teardrops form under my eyes.

"Lucy!" Natsu exclaims. "Are you okay?!"

An image begins to appear as my vision blurs.

 _I am pinned onto a bed by the same man I saw earlier in these images. This time, his image is a little clearer. His hair is pink and he has tan skin. He is very muscular. I am trying to fight against him, but he has me completely trapped._

" _Hm…," he says. "I have had a ton of assassins trying to kill me in the past, but this is the first time that I have seen a daredevil girl like you." He makes a smirk as he touches my cheek with his rough hands._

 _I try to move my legs to get out of his grasp, but he has me totally locked. I can't move no matter how much I try._

" _A girl huh?" he says in a husky voice. "Wonder why they sent a girl alone to kill me. You're obviously weaker than me."_

 _I glare at him once he says the word_ _ **weak**_ _. Too many people have called me that just because I was a girl. I am sick of it. I just want to beat up anyone who says that._

 _He whistles when he sees my glare. "Quite the hothead, aren't you?"_

 _I use my nails to scratch his hands off of my wrists. But his grip is like iron, it won't budge. Just how strong is this guy?_

" _I'm not weak!" I exclaim. "Just to let you know, I have the title of the strongest knight in my kingdom!"_

 _Prince Natsu raises an eyebrow. "Interesting…," he mumbles. He caresses my cheek again. His touch is so gentle and warm. It is as if he is treating me like a gem. "I like you."_

" _Huh?" I say, not sure if I just heard him right._

 _Prince Natsu smirks again. "I like you," he says. "So I'm going to make you my bride."_

 _My eyes widen from a mixture of shock, confusion and disgust._

" _Marry me."_

My vision comes back. My eyes widen. What was that? I try to hold myself down, but I keep shaking and shivering. Who was that man? And why do these images keep popping in my head? My heart keeps pumping.

"Lucy!" Juvia shouts. "Have you come to?"

I nod. "Y-Yeah." I look up and make eye contact with Natsu.

Suddenly, I remember the man in those images I saw. Now that I think about it, he does resemble Natsu. And… that man mentioned that I was an assassin off to kill him. If I remember clearly from the history textbook, Knight Lucy Heartfilia was to assassinate Prince Natsu Dragneel.

Is this all a coincidence? Somehow, I am a bit afraid. Everything seems to be aligning too well for the images in my mind to be a coincidence. I look back at Natsu.

"What is it?" he asks.

"N-Nothing," I say, looking back down at my hands. "I'm feeling a bit tired, so I'm going to sleep now."

"Okay," Juvia says. She grabs Natsu's arm but he refuses to move. "Come on, Natsu. If you stay here, she won't be able to rest."

"Fine," he says. "Night Lucy." Then the two of them leave.

The instant that they are gone, I take out my phone and go on my search engine. I google Prince Natsu Dragneel. I scroll down and see _suggested images._ Maybe if I get a picture, I can figure this out. I tap my finger on it and all over the page, I see paintings.

But the paintings aren't of the prince. They are paintings of… my new friend Natsu Dragneel.

What does this mean? I keep scrolling down, but all I see are pictures of Natsu.

My head begins to hurt again, but I try to hold onto the pain as I look at the images. I look at the top and see " _also searched for: Knight Lucy Heartfilia"._ Curiously, I click on it.

No way.

All these paintings.

They all look like me.

I am shaking from a mixture of fear and shock. My breaths are getting heavier and heavier, faster and faster. I am afraid. This can't be what I am thinking, right? But this all can not be just a coincidence. Natsu and my face look like an exact copy of these famous rulers of the past.

Am I a reincarnation?

A stinging pain spreads in my head. "Ah!" I scream. This one hurts more than the other ones. Images rush in my head again. This time, it isn't just one, but several going rapidly in my mind.

" _You'll be my queen."_

" _Good morning. How did you sleep?"_

" _Give her back? She'll be my future queen. I wouldn't give her back even if you took my life."_

" _I like it when you call my name."_

" _You know, I love you, and I won't let that droopy eye prince of yours take you either, Lucy."_

" _Lucy."_

" _Lucy."_

" _I love you."_

I open my eyes, tears running down them. No way. This time, the images are clear. The man isn't just any man. He is… Natsu Dragneel. But the clothes worn are different. It feels like a totally different era. However, there is a certain image that stands out the most to me.

" _Losing my memories sounds scary," I said. "But I believe in you, Natsu. I believe that you can help me remember all the times we spent together. All the moments that we treasured in this life. So… I'm not afraid."_

 _The man, now identified as Natsu, gulped, but then he nodded confidently. "Okay. I promise you, Lucy. I'll find you in this large world, no matter where you are. I'll look for you daily and when I find you, I'll do my best to recover your memories."_

 _I felt wind gather at my feet. My ghost-like body was beginning to disappear. I turned and looked at Natsu. To my surprise, he was also looking at me. He gave a grin._

" _I promise!" he said, trying to shout over the loud wind. "I'll find you!"_

" _I promise!" I shouted back. "That I'll wait for you!"_

 _He made a soft smile at me. "I love you."_

" _I love you too."_

 _And with that, we both disappeared._

These images… They aren't just ordinary images. They are memories of my… past life.

Memories.

Memories.

I begin to cry. I remember now. I understand now.

Immediately, I jump off my bed. I don't care that I am still in my hospital gown or that I am not wearing shoes. I throw the doors open and sprint. Nurses and doctors behind me shout at me to stop running and to go back to my room, but I ignore them. I need to get to him as soon as possible.

I finally get outside. My bare feet hit the cold cement. It hurts but I know that it doesn't hurt nearly as much as the pain I caused him.

Nurses and doctors are chasing after me. I need to run faster, but I am almost out of breath.

I am near the train station and I finally see that pink head that I was searching for.

"NATSU!" I scream.

Instantly, he stops in his tracks. Juvia looks at him in confusion. She probably could not hear me.

Natsu turns around slowly and we make eye contact. My eyes flood with tears when I see his face. I run to him and collapse in his arms.

"Lucy?" he exclaims. "Hey! Lucy!"

I pant, trying to breathe. I am out of breath. "Natsu… I… I remember."

"What?" he asks, his eyes widening.

I look at him in the eye and put my hand on his cheek. "I'm sorry for the wait," I say. "His Highness Prince Natsu Dragneel."

Natsu begins to cry. He wraps his arms around me and hugs me tight, as if he let go, I would disappear from his eyes again. "I love you. I love you. I love you," he keeps saying over and over again. I can feel his warm breath on my neck. It is comforting compared to the cold night.

"I know," I say, trying to hold back my tears.

"Don't lose your memories ever again," he cries.

"I know," I choke out.

His hands on my back press me even closer to him. I hug him tighter.

"Tell me you love me," he says, his voice sounding desperate.

"I love you," I say.

Natsu breathes loudly. "I waited for centuries to hear that again," he says. "You owe me."

I make a soft chuckle and loosen the hug. I look at him in the eye. Then I close my eyes and go on my toes to match his height. Then I wrap my arms around his neck, forcing him to bend down, and kiss him.

"Are we even now?" I say after.

Natsu's face turns red. "No," he says. "Do it again."

"Pervert," I say.

"Only towards you," he says with a smile, bending down to put his lips over mine again.

\- **End of A Knight's Vengeance -**

Hey guys! This may be the end of this story, but there is still one more chapter! I am making a bonus chapter of Natsu's POV. But then I was wondering, which time would you guys rather have the bonus chapter on.

Here are the choices:

1\. When Natsu first meets Lucy (Chapters 2-3)

2\. Natsu meets Lucy a few centuries later (Chapter 23 and this chapter)

3\. Other ideas?

Please vote! Every opinion is appreciated! The bonus chapter will be posted after I figure out which one to do! I love both choices equally, so I have no preference!

Thank you so much for reading **A Knight's Vengeance**!

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	25. Bonus Chapter

**Bonus Chapter - Natsu's POV (Chapters 23 & 24)**

I shiver from the winds that blow in the night. I really wish that I still had those fire powers I had in my last life because relying on just my body heat is the worst. I cross my arms around my body to create more warmth. I'm so cold.

I look at my phone. It is almost midnight.

Looks like I won't be able to find her again.

I sigh as I make my way back into the Fairy High dorms. I still need to do my homework when I get back. Well, I can just catch some sleep during class tomorrow. I always do that anyway. I'm more of a visual learner anyway, so the lectures do not help me much.

Making sure that the security guard is not watching, I climb over the fence that sets a barrier over my school and jump down into the property. I look at the guard again. Like I thought, he is sleeping on the job again. Seriously, someone should get him fired. But then again, because of him, I am able to escape so many times.

I quietly run over to my dorm building and tap on the window of my room. The window opens and a hand sticks out. The curtains open. It is my roommate Rogue Cheney.

"You're finally back, Natsu?" he says. "Geez, who are you looking for all the time for you to be out so late every day?"

I shrug as I take his hand. He pulls me up, helping me climb into the window. Students at Fairy High aren't supposed to be leaving school property after six o'clock in the afternoon without permission, but I break that rule every night. Luckily, I got a room on the first floor, so it is pretty easy to sneak in and out. That lazy guard really helps too.

I yawn as I grab my homework papers. Time for work.

"Hey," Rogue says with a worried face. "Why don't you take a nap? Your grades are high enough! So just take a night's rest, okay?"

"I can't," I reply. "If I don't stay in the top ten, my parents will force me to go back to the countryside."

I was born in the countryside, but to find her, I need to be in the city. Fiore is the biggest city in this country, so being accepted into this prestigious school was my ultimate goal since I was a child. Also, _she_ is really smart. At least in her past life, she was. So since Fiore High is famous for only accepting the best out of the best, there is a high chance that she may attend this school someday.

Rogue goes to sleep earlier than me like usual. I turn on my dim lamp so I don't disturb him and continue to do my work.

* * *

"Hey, Natsu!" Rogue exclaims. "Wake up! It's time for school!"

"Huh?" I say with a yawn. I look at my phone. It is seven o'clock. "There's still thirty more minutes," I grumble. I put my bed sheets over my head and attempt to go back to sleep.

"Natsu!" Rogue says angrily. "You know that Mr. Clive has been pissed at you because you always come late! What if he lowers your math grade? He did threaten to do that before, remember?"

 _Lower my grade?_ My eyes widen. Holy crap. No. Immediately, I jump out of my bed. I grab my uniform and begin to change my clothes. I grab my bag and headphones and brush my teeth at the same time. Then Rogue and I run to the school canteen to grab breakfast. Some of my friends are already there.

"Morning Natsu," my friend Erza says. She is the dorm head. Sometimes she catches me in the middle of the night sneaking back. She is the scariest person I ever met in my life.

"Morning Erza," I reply with a yawn. I go grab some bread and wave bye to my friends. I want to get to class early so I can take a nap on my desk. This cafeteria is too loud.

I plop my head on my desk once I get inside my classroom. To block the noise outside, I put my headphones on.

* * *

"Natsu, wake up!" someone nudges me awake.

"Huh?" I sit up and stretch my limbs. Then I look up. It is Rogue. "Is class over?" I ask.

"Yeah," Rogue replies. "It's lunch now. Let's head to the cafeteria to meet the others."

I stand up and walk with Rogue. We find our usual table. Erza is already there, early as usual. But there is someone missing.

"Juvia isn't here today?" Rogue says. "She's usually here before us."

"She said that she wanted to invite a classmate," Erza replies. "So she'll be late."

Oh, a classmate? If it were a transfer or something, I would be interested, but this school is so small, so I already know of any old ordinary classmate of Juvia and everyone else. I put on my headphones and lay on the table. I am too tired to stay awake. Last night, I slept at four a.m. and I am still not recovered. It's bad for a daily habit, but I need to find her, as soon as possible.

Ah… Things would be so much easier if she could just magically appear before me. Haha, realistically speaking, maybe come to Fairy High as a transfer.

* * *

"Hey! Natsu!" I hear Rogue shout, shaking my shoulder. "Come on, lunch is going to end soon and you're not going to introduce yourself to the new kid?"

Ugh, why won't he ever let me sleep? I yawn and straighten my back, sitting up. I take off my headphones, resting them on my shoulders. I stretch my arms and crack my neck. Lying on desks isn't the most comfortable position, but it is better than getting no sleep at all.

"What time is it?" I ask.

"Time for you to introduce yourself to the new transfer!" Erza scolds, pointing to the other side of the table. "Now if you actually slept on time instead of running off every night, you wouldn't be sleeping during lunch every day!"

Transfer? Could it be…? No, I am bringing my hopes up. There is no way that she would just appear before me that easily.

"Okay, okay," I say, a bit annoyed. I turn to look over at where she is pointing. "Geez, Erza. You're such a-" I make eye contact with the girl in front of me. I take a deep breath. No way.

No way.

I try to speak, but it feels as though something is stuck in the back of my throat.

She looks exactly the same as when I first met her. Her blond hair. Her brown eyes that I could stare into for ages. She is the same. There is no mistaking it. I know for sure that it is her.

"Lu… cy?" I say.

The girl looks at me in shock. "Y-Yeah," she says, scratching the back of her head. Even her voice sounds the same. "That's my name! How'd you know?"

"You," I manage to choke out. "It's you."

"Huh?" she says. Her face is full of bewilderment.

My heart drops. Oh yeah… I had forgotten. She has no memories of me. It was expected, but it still hurts. All those moments in our past life, she had forgotten every detail. Now I am only a stranger to her.

 _Losing my memories sounds scary,_ I remember Lucy saying. _But I believe in you, Natsu. I believe that you can help me remember all the times we spent together. All the moments that we treasured in this life. So… I'm not afraid._

I shake my head and slap my cheeks. No, I need to stop thinking about this. I promised her… I promised Lucy that I would recover her memories. Well, to start off, I should make myself sound less stalker-like and more of a… new friend I guess.

"N-no, nothing!" I say with a laugh. "S-Sorry! I must have sounded like a creep! I just heard about you from some other people in the halls, saying that there was this new student, haha!"

The girl raises one of her eyebrows. I can tell that she is not convinced, but maybe she would let me off for now. I gulp.

"Um… I'm Lucy Heartfilia," she says awkwardly. "Nice to meet you."

"Lucy Heartfilia," I say. Even her name is exactly the same. Oh yeah, I should introduce myself. "Ah! I'm Natsu Dragneel, a senior."

The bell begins to ring, signaling the end of lunch.

"Come on, Lucy!" Juvia exclaims. "Mr. Makarov gets in a horrible mood if anyone is late!"

Lucy quickly grabs her things and runs off with Juvia out of the cafeteria. But, without thinking, I stop her, grabbing her wrist.

"W-Wait!" I shout.

She turns around, meeting her brown eyes with mine again.

Oh crap, I didn't think this far ahead. Why did I even grab her? Now she is going to think that I am a creep or stalker for sure. I am so dead. Suddenly, I remember that annual festival that is happening today at Fiore. Maybe if I bring her there, she could recover some memories. I doubt it, but I already got myself in such an awkward situation. This wouldn't make that much of a difference in awkwardness, right?

"If you don't mind, do you want to hang out sometime?" I ask. I can feel my face getting redder. Her eyes seem to pierce through me. I cover my red face with my arm. This is so embarrassing. Everyone in the cafeteria is watching too.

"Uh, I mean like after school," I add on. "Like um… I can walk you to your dorm! Or we could get a drink together…"

Lucy's mouth goes into a little **o.** She smiles. "Sure!" she exclaims. "Thanks so much!"

Pew. I am so relieved. Thank goodness she didn't reject me. "No problem," I say.

I look at Lucy again. I remember some distant memories. It would really be great if she could recover her memories of me. Pretending to be a stranger to her is so hard when all I want to do is wrap her in my arms.

"Here," suddenly, I hear her say. Crap, was I spacing out again?

"You seem to be spacing out a lot," she says. "So this may wake you up."

Huh? I look at her hand. In it is a can of coffee. I recognize this brand from the school's vending machine. I let go of her wrists and take the coffee, accidentally touching her fingers. Her fingers are so warm compared to the cold coffee drink. I haven't felt her hands in a long time. I make a soft smile. They felt the same as they always did.

I look over at Lucy. Huh? Is it just me, or is her face really red?

"Hurry up, Lucy!" Juvia shouts. "We'll be late!"

"Okay!" she shouts back. She begins to run back to her.

"I'll wait for you after school!" I yell.

She looks back at me and nods. Then she turns around. I watch her back go farther and farther away.

I turn back and get my things. Rogue nudges me with a smirk. "What was that?" he says, teasing. "Got a crush on the transfer?"

"S-Stop!" I hiss. "Well… I guess you could say that."

"Eh?" Rogue says, trying to hold back his laughter. "Well, I do agree that she is pretty cute."

I glare at him.

"Don't worry," he says with a laugh. "I'm not aiming for her, relax!"

Rogue and I get our backpacks and begin to walk to our next class. On our way, I see a group of girls crowded in a corner. There is one in the center. Maybe it is a short club meeting. One of the girls spots me. "It's Natsu!" she shouts.

Instantly, all the girls turn to me and wave with a smile. "Hi Natsu!" they all say.

Ah, I remember that Rogue did mention that a few girls made some kind of fan club for me. I wave back, but I do feel a bit awkward.

"Wow, popular much," Rogue says with a laugh.

"Shut up," I say as we walk into class.

* * *

I get up once I hear that bell ring. I grab my backpack and jump out of my seat. I remember Erza mentioning that Lucy, the new transfer, was Juvia's classmate, so I run over to Juvia's classroom. It is pretty awkward for a senior like me to walk through the junior side of the school, but people seem to be pretty nice, especially girls, waving to me as I pass.

I reach the classroom and I tap on a random student's shoulder nearby.

"Hey," I say. "Can you call out the new transfer kid for me?"

"Sure," he replies. "Hey, transfer!"

A girl in blond turns around. It is Lucy. Whew, I got the right classroom.

The boy points to me. "This guy is looking for you."

Lucy looks over at me. Her face turns slightly pink. She quickly grabs her backpack and walks over to me.

"Hey," I say. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," she says with a nod. "But where are we going?"

"A festival," I reply. "Come on!"

Lucy tilts her head slightly to the right. "I've never been to a festival before," she says. "What is it like?"

I feel my heart drop a bit even she says that. I want to tell her that she has with me before, back in the Dragoon Kingdom, but she would never believe me. But then I smile. Even in this life, she has never been to a festival until I come along. That makes me feel a bit better.

" _You'll understand once we get there_ ," I say, reciting my past self from centuries ago. I use the exact same words, hoping to trigger her memories, but of course, it is futile.

We walk off school grounds. I lead her to my motorcycle.

"That's yours?" Lucy asks.

"Yup," I reply. "We're going to ride it there."

"I never rode a motorcycle before. How does it work?" she asks.

Ah… of course she won't remember those rides I gave her on my motorcycle in the past. It is expected, but it still hurts.

" _Sit behind me. I'll show you,"_ I recite myself again.

Suddenly, Lucy grabs her head. She closes her eyes tightly and begins to scream in pain. Tears run down her cheeks.

"Lucy?!" I exclaim. I hold onto her shoulders. "Hey, what's wrong?! Get a hold of yourself!"

Lucy's eyes open, but instead of seeing her eyes, I see images. I see two people having a conversation in her eyes.

" _Fes… ti… val? What is that?"_ Lucy says in an almost inaudible voice. She almost sounds like she is hissing. She is holding her breath, trying not to continue screaming in pain.

My eyes widen. Those were the exact same words we exchanged back in the Dragoon Kingdom. Then I realize it. Those two people in her eyes were me and her a few centuries ago. Could she be recovering memories right now?

Lucy continues to hold onto her head, reciting our past conversation. She screams in between words.

Finally, I can see her natural eye color go back. She breathes in deeply as if she just had a nightmare.

"Are you okay?" I ask, extending my hand to her. "You seem tired."

"No, no!" Lucy says, taking my hand and sitting behind me on the motorcycle.

What was that just now? I am sure that Lucy was just recovering her memories. Perhaps she had mistaken it for a dream. At least I have gotten one step further. But… I never thought that she would be in so much pain just to recover one memory.

I twist the handle, turning on the engine. "Hold onto me," I say.

Lucy grabs onto my shoulder. Immediately, I laugh. She hasn't changed at all.

"Idiot!" I exclaim. "My waist! Not my shoulders!"

"O-Oh," Lucy says. She lets go of my shoulders. "H-Hold on! There's no way I am going to hold onto your waist!"

I turn my head toward Lucy and stick my tongue out. "Suit yourself."

I step on the pedal hard. Instantly, once the bike lunges forward, Lucy wraps her arms around my waist. I feel my heart leap.

Lucy recovering her memories… must be really painful. If she has to go through all that pain, maybe I shouldn't recover her memories at all. I rather start new than see Lucy go through that. I don't want to see her hurt ever again, not since I saw her die from Zeref's attacks. I rather be a stranger to her than hear her screams.

" _Losing my memories sounds scary," Lucy said. "But I believe in you, Natsu. I believe that you can help me remember all the times we spent together. All the moments that we treasured in this life. So… I'm not afraid."_

Ah, it hurts. My heart hurts. Why do I keep remembering her words? Even though she said that, I still don't want to see her in pain whenever recovering memories. But, I would be lying if I said that I wasn't lonely. It really does hurt to be forgotten like this. I remember that time I first met her as a young ten-year-old boy. She had saved me from dying alone on that dirt road. And then when I saw her again in my palace, I couldn't believe it.

No, I need to stop thinking about the past. I need to look at the present Lucy. Even though I can not recover her memories, I need to at least become friends with her again.

"We're here," I say once I see the festival. I park the bike and jump off. I help Lucy off the bike and then guide her into the colorful festival. Her reaction was just as I expected. Amazed.

"I always meant to bring you here when I found you," I say happily.

"Found me…?" Lucy asks, confused.

"Ah!" I say. I quickly cover my mouth. Why do I always have to run my mouth like that? "Hey! We can get takoyaki over there!" I exclaim. I try my best to change the topic. "Let's get some?"

Lucy looks at me, obviously wanting to ask me more about what I just said. But then she nods, shrugging off what I just said. I sigh in relief. Thank goodness. I led her to my favorite takoyaki stand that I always went to. I see the same old lady in the booth.

"Oh," she says when she sees us. "It's you again, Natsu. How have you been?"

"Pretty good," I reply. "Can we have an order of takoyaki?"

She looks over at Lucy, staring at her for a bit. "Oh my!" she says. "Why! Is this your girlfriend, Natsu?"

"Ah!" Lucy immediately says. Her face glows bright red. "No, I'm just a friend-"

"Oh my!" the old lady says, ignoring Lucy. As usual, she is jumping into conclusions. She looks at me happily. "Congratulations! Let me treat you to takoyaki today, my dears. It's on me, okay?"

"Oh no," I say. This scene is too alike to that time I spent in a festival with Lucy. At this rate, she may recover her memories again! "It's fine!" I grab my wallet and try to shove it toward her, but she refuses to take my money.

I walk over to the bench with Lucy, sitting down.

"The old lady seems to know you," Lucy says, breaking the silence.

"Yeah," I say. "When I was a kid, I used to run away from the dorms all the time and go to her takoyaki stand to eat."

Lucy chuckles. My heart beats again. She is really cute. "You must have really hated school."

I shake my head. "No," I say. I look at Lucy, remembering her personality back when she was an assassin. Now that she is a normal girl, she does not have to hold her emotions in anymore. I love her even more now. Maybe now that I am no longer a prince and she is no longer a knight of the enemy country, we can finally be together without any judgment.

"I was always searching for this girl," I say, reminiscing a bit. "Ever since I could remember, I was always looking for her day and night. I was so obsessed with finding her that I used to even miss class just to keep searching."

Oh, shoot. I ran my mouth again. What if she recovers her memories again? Me and my big mouth.

I glance at Lucy, hoping that she is alright. To my surprise, she looks a bit irritated and upset. But then she quickly catches me looking at her and smiles brightly. "I hope you find her soon," she says with a comforting voice.

I laugh a bit. "I already did."

"When?" Lucy asks.

If only she knew. "Today," I simply reply.

"Your takoyaki is ready!" the old lady shouts.

I go get our food and place it between Lucy and me. Now that I think about it, Lucy in this world is only a year younger than me. Back in the old days, she was three years younger than me.

Hold on, during junior year, I do remember that we studied Fiore's history. Knight Lucy Heartfilia was one of the main lessons. If Lucy ever takes that history class, there is no doubt that she would recover her memories and go through that pain again. I gulp. How do I stop her from taking a class, though? I remember the Knight Lucy Heartfilia section was taught during the second semester, so I only have a few months to stop this lesson.

"Hey," I say. "Do you know the history of Fiore?"

Lucy shakes her head. "No, why?"

I shrug, making myself look casual. "It's nothing. I was just curious." Inside, I am sighing in relief. Thank goodness. At least I have more time.

I look at her again. But how will I stop the history teacher? There is no way he would believe my bizarre story. Lucy looks back at me, questionable. Ah crap, she must have noticed me staring at her.

After we finish eating, I bring Lucy back into the dorms. We exchange some small talk.

I leave her and then as I go on my way, I see a group of girls hiding in a corner, talking. I hear my name come up a few times, so curiously, I walk over and hide behind a tree to listen. I know eavesdropping is bad, but if it is about me, I can not help but be nosy.

"We need to protect Natsu!" I hear a girl say. "That stupid transfer has him hooked onto her leash. Who is she anyway?"

"She transferred into my class," another girl replies, rolling her eyes. "Her name is Lucy Heartfilia."

"Ugh, Heartfilia," a girl says, obviously irked by her name. "We need to do something about her. Who does she think she is anyway? Taking Natsu from all of us."

Huh? What is this? Don't tell me it is one of those fangirl clubs. It is not like I ever hated them in the past. I mean, they were always so kind to me. But… I never knew they were like this behind the scenes.

"We should mess up her locker," a girl says. "Or maybe bring her out and have a _talk_ with her-"

"Have a talk with who?" I say loudly, without thinking. I walk out of my hiding spot and glare at the group of girls.

"O-Oh! Natsu!" a girl says. "It's not what you think! We just wanted to-"

"If you do anything to Lucy," I say angrily. I tilt my head to the left slightly and crack my neck. "I won't let you see even the next millisecond the next day."

Immediately, the girls run away. Looks like I lost some fans, but I could care less. I never knew that they were such horrible people. I wonder if they bullied all my female friends like that, like Juvia or Erza. Well, knowing Erza, she wouldn't be hurt at all.

I yawn. I am getting a bit tired. Maybe I should go back to the dorms for some sleep. I need to keep a close eye on Lucy, though. I don't want her to be bullied because of me.

* * *

My phone rings loudly in the middle of the night. I groan as I check who is calling. It is Juvia. Seriously man? It's two in the morning. Couldn't it wait?

Regardless, I pick up the phone. "What is it?" I ask angrily.

"N-Natsu!" Juvia says. She seems to be crying. "It's Lucy! S-She… She-"

Immediately, I sit up. "What about Lucy?" I shout. "Tell me now."

From her side of the phone, I could hear the sound of an ambulance car running. No way. This isn't what I am thinking, right?

"I am in the ambulance with Lucy right now!" Juvia cries. "She collapsed and we are heading to the closest hospital right now."

"Which one?" I shout. "I'll head there now!"

"University Hospital!" Juvia replies.

Instantly, I hang up. I grab my jacket and open the door loudly.

"What's with the noise?" Rogue, my roommate, says.

"Tell you later," I say, running out the door.

I take my usual path to escape school grounds. Then I take my motorcycle and drive as fast as I can to the hospital. This is all my fault. If I had not taken Lucy out today, she may have not collapsed. It is highly likely she collapsed from recovering memories again.

Once I get to the hospital, I jump off my bike and run to the front desk. "Excuse me!" I shout. Instantly, all the nurses around me stare. I try to ignore them. "Where is Lucy Heartfilia?"

"Ms. Heartfilia?" the worker says. "She came here not too long ago. She is in room 326."

"Thank you so much," I say between pants. I run over to the elevator and then get on the third floor. I find Lucy's room and open the door abruptly. "Lucy!" I exclaim.

Inside, I see Juvia and a nurse. Lucy is lying on the bed. I walk over and hold Lucy's hand tight. "H-How is she?" I ask.

"She's fine," the nurse says. "She must have collapsed from fatigue. She will be okay."

I sigh in relief. Thank the gods. The nurse leaves the room. Juvia turns to me and pats my back. "You really do worry for her, huh?" she says. "Tell me the truth. She's the one you have been looking for, right?"

My eyes widen. "H-How did you know?"

Juvia points to her brain. "A woman's intuition is very impressive, you know?"

"Yeah, she is," I say. "I missed her so much, Juvia. I missed every day that I could not see her. I love her."

"But she forgot about you, right?" Juvia says.

I open my mouth to answer but I have no words.

"Don't worry," she says. She takes Lucy's other hand. "Even though she may not remember who you are, you can always make new memories." She turns to me with a smile and lets go of Lucy's hand. She walks toward the door and turns to me. "I'll cheer for you." Then she leaves.

I lay my head by Lucy's side. I hope she wakes up soon.

* * *

 _ **Two days later…**_

I feel someone combing my hair softly. I open my eyes to see that it is Lucy, patting my head. No way, if she is acting this affectionately, could it be that she remembers me?

Instantly, once she sees that I am awake, she takes her hand off my head. But I immediately grab it.

"You remember?"I ask. "Lucy, you remember?"

"Huh?" she says, confused. "What are you talking about? Remember?"

"O-Oh," I say, letting go of her hand. Why did I bring my hopes like that? I need to stop. I absolutely can not allow Lucy to recover her memories. I don't want to see her collapse like this ever again. "Nevermind. S-Sorry, I was half-asleep. I'll call the nurse over since you're awake. I'll call Juvia and the others too."

I walk out of the room. I look for a nurse nearby. Maybe it would have been better if I never saw Lucy again after this. I should go back to the town I grew up in. If I continue to be close to Lucy, she will definitely be in danger like this. What if she goes to the hospital again because of me? I need to leave her alone.

I find a nurse and tell her about Lucy's condition. Immediately, she goes to check up on Lucy. I am asked to leave the room, but I can hear their conversation inside. It seems like the nurse is telling her about how she collapsed from exhaustion. However, Lucy is replying, saying that she is getting enough sleep and was never tired at all the day she collapsed.

"Also," the nurse says. "You did show symptoms of amnesia."

"Huh?" Lucy says.

Oh crap, I instantly think.

"But, it seems like you know who you are and who your family members are," the nurse says. "So we can rule out that."

I sigh in relief. It will be okay.

"You can leave the hospital once it is morning," the nurse says. "For now, you can stay the night."

"Thank you so much," Lucy replies.

"You know, you are very lucky to have such a nice boyfriend!" the nurse exclaims.

My face instantly turns red. What is that nurse talking about?!

"Boyfriend?" Lucy asks.

"The boy with the pink hair?" the nurse says. "He has been with you this whole time. He hasn't left the hospital since you have been admitted here."

I feel blood rush to my face. Why did the nurse have to tell her that? Ah, I am so embarrassed now.

The nurse walks out, giving me a smile. I walk back inside. Lucy is sitting up, looking healthy as ever. "Hey, are you feeling better-"

Lucy grabs onto my arm. My eyes widen in surprise. "You," I say. "Do I know you?"

Huh? What is she talking about?

"Why are you so kind to me?" she asks. "No ordinary person would do things like this. I just met you, but you already brought me to hangout and even stayed at the hospital this whole time for me. Why-"

Someone opens the door, interrupting her. It is Juvia. Instantly, Lucy lets my arm go.

Thank god for Juvia. If she didn't come in, I wouldn't know where the conversation would go.

"Hm?" Juvia says in a teasing tone. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No!" Lucy shouts.

"Anyway," Juvia says. She walks over to Lucy and hugs her tight. "I'm glad that you're okay." She goes into her bag and takes out a textbook, handing it to Lucy. My eyes widen. I recognize that cover. "Here's the history book you wanted."

Crap! If Lucy sees that book, there is no doubt that she will collapse again. I can not allow her to know about her past life.

"Thanks," Lucy says.

Immediately, I take the book out of her hands. "Don't read that!" I exclaim.

Juvia and Lucy stare at me,

"I mean, uh," I say, scratching the back of my head. I need an excuse. "I have a history test tomorrow so I'll be taking this!"

"That's a junior history book," Juvia says bluntly. "You're a senior, so why would you have a test out of that?"

"W-Well…" I say. I glare at her. Dammit, Juvia. Help me out here. "W-We're having a review test on the history we learned last year!"

Lucy is still staring at me. She raises one eyebrow. She is suspicious of me, crap.

Suddenly, she screams and grasps onto her head again.

"Lucy!" I exclaim. I grab her shoulders. "Are you okay?!"

Her eyes open and again, I am seeing images in them. I can see clearly what she is seeing this time. It is me and her back when we met at my castle. I was pinning her onto my bed.

" _I'm not weak!"_ Lucy hisses. " _Just to let you know, I have the title of the strongest knight in my kingdom!"_

My eyes widen. No, she is remembering again. I need to stop her. I shake her even more. "Come back to your senses!" I shout. "Lucy!"

The images clear out of her eyes and her brown eyes come back. She looks back at me, confused.

"Lucy!" Juvia shouts. "Have you come to?"

She nods. "Y-Yeah." She makes eye contact with me as if she were scanning me. Crap, what is she finds out that I am the man in her memories.

"What is it?" I ask, trying to sound as calm as possible.

"N-Nothing," Lucy immediately says, staring down at her hands. "I'm feeling a bit tired, so I'm going to sleep now."

"Okay," Juvia says. She grabs my arm. "Come on, Natsu. If you stay here, she won't be able to rest."

"Fine," I say. "Night Lucy." Then I leave with Juvia.

Juvia walks out of the room. Immediately, Juvia begins to question me, as if she were some detective from the police.

"You," she says. "What was that? I saw it. Those images in Lucy's eyes."

"It's nothing," I say. "Y-You were probably just imagining it."

We are in front of the train station. Juvia stands in front of me, stopping me from getting on the train. "I read some of the history book while I was on the train," she says. "Prince Natsu Dragneel… looks a lot like you."

I cringe. "Well, I am related to the royal family," I say. "He's my long-lost relative." I am not completely lying.

"Oh?" she says. "Also, that assassin, Lucy Heartfilia, looks very familiar as well. And… back when Lucy was screaming in that hospital room, she said something about being the strongest knight in her kingdom."

"Maybe she was just spouting gibberish," I say. "Don't mind it. She probably had some kind of nightmare while unconscious."

"Tell me the truth, Natsu," Juvia says. "What is going on?"

I can tell by that look that I can not escape. Maybe letting one person know of Lucy and my situation wouldn't be that bad. Juvia also seems like she would be a close friend of Lucy in the future too. She could help me out.

I explain the situation to Juvia. I tell her how Lucy and I are reincarnations. I also tell her that I can not allow Lucy to regain her memories because she would be in pain if she did so.

Juvia nods. "Honestly, all of this seems like a joke, but nothing else can explain those images on Lucy's eyes. So magic, guardians and all, I'll believe you. There is no reason why you would lie to me either."

"Juvia…" I say. "Thank you so much!"

Our train comes. We are about to go on when suddenly I hear someone shout "NATSU!" loudly. That voice… no way.

I stop and turn around, making eye contact with those chocolate brown eyes. She is crying. Immediately, she runs to me, arms wide. She collapses in my arms and hugs me tightly as if I would disappear.

"Lucy?" I say. "Hey! Lucy!"

Lucy pants, grabbing onto me even tighter. "Natsu… I… I remember."

"What?" I say. No way. My heart pounds faster and faster. There has to be no way.

She stands up straight and puts her hand on my cheek. "I'm sorry for the wait," she says with a smile. "His Highness Prince Natsu Dragneel."

Is this a dream? I begin to cry. My warm tears trail down my face. I can feel them. I can feel Lucy. This is real. I wrap my arms around her small body and hug her tightly. "I love you. I love you. I love you," I say over and over again. I can't stop saying it. It has been so long since I have embraced her like this.

"I know," she says, crying into my shirt.

"Don't lose your memories ever again," I cry.

"I know," she says again.

I hug her tighter. "Tell me you love me," he says, his voice sounding desperate.

"I love you," she says.

I breathe heavily. My heart is nonstop beating. I never thought that I would hear those words ever again. "I waited for centuries to hear that again," I say like a child. "You owe me."

Lucy laughs. She loosens our hug and stares at me. She wraps her arms around my neck and closes her eyes. She goes on her toes, trying to match my height and uses force to bring my head down, giving me a peck on the lips.

She looks at me mischievously. "Are we even now?"

I can feel my face boiling. "No," I say like a whiny kid. "Do it again."

"Pervert," she says with a cute pout.

"Only towards you," I say, kissing her again.

Finally, after all these years... she is mine. And this time, I will never let her go. I failed to protect her in my last life as a prince, but this time, I will protect her with my life as an ordinary boy.

Dating as ordinary high school students... Thank you, Crius. Our dream has been fulfilled.

\- **End of Bonus Chapter -**

Hi guys! Thank you for reading the last chapter for this story! My new one-shot will be released very soon, so please look forward to it! Here is the summary for you guys to see.

 **Microwave Boy**

 **-Based on a True Story- When I first sat next to her, I thought that she was beautiful. Her golden hair and her warm eyes entranced me. So I introduced myself. To my surprise, she told me that she recognized me… as the dorky guy who took forever in front of the microwave during lunch. I was remembered as the microwave man by the cutest girl at school. What a great first impression.**

\- _**Metallic Snow**_


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